'Just Don't Bring Sinner': New Pope Jokes About Possible Exhibition Match

Pope Leo XIV's passion for tennis was shown when he mentioned Jannik Sinner and Andre Agassi when speaking to the press for the first time.

Many tennis fans were excited to discover that the replacement for Pope Francis has loved the sport for many years. His history of comments and social media posts proves that to be true.

The election of Pope Leo XIV was one of the most significant news stories of the last few years. Therefore, the chances of tennis being mentioned in his maiden meeting with the press in the Vatican seemed unlikely.

However, that occurred when a reporter asked the new pope about the possibility of arranging a charity tennis match for the Pontifical Missionary Works since the 69-year-old is so interested in the sport.

Pope Leo XIV responded that it would be fine. When the reporter mentioned bringing Agassi for the event, the Pope humorously said not to bring Sinner, playing on the double meaning of his surname in English.

Other reporters continued the funny exchange by saying they would be open to playing in a doubles match, which led to the Pope saying he does play, but not at a high level.

While the Pope will be busy fulfilling his obligations worldwide, his love of tennis could lead to the sport being mentioned in the context of the Catholic Church more than it ever has throughout the iconic institution's history.

The Italian Open in Rome, being played during Pope Leo XIV's election, feels quite poetic. It was a day that meant a significant amount to millions of Italians, although that was also the case for catholics worldwide.

Sinner's return to tennis has been the central story at the Italian Open. He had not played a match since winning the 2025 Australian Open in January after being suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency for almost three months.

That suspension was given to him almost 12 months after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol at the 2024 Indian Wells Open due to accidental contamination from his physiotherapist at the time.

Despite initially being cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency and Sinner believing he was innocent, his team convinced him to accept WADA's ban to avoid the possibility of being given a lengthier suspension.

Sinner's wearing of dark colors in his opening match back against Mariano Navone generated some attention. The ATP world No. 1 explained why he chose those colors after the match.

One of the other notable moments at this year's tournament in Rome was Iga Swiatek's round of 32 exit to Danielle Collins. Failing to retain her title means she will fall to No. 4 when the rankings are released, her lowest in over three years.

Swiatek's ranking will fall again if she exits early at the French Open, where the Pole has triumphed four times, including last year. Her team discussed the 23-year-old's next steps after losing to Collins.