pope (1)

ROME — Jannik Sinner says it’s “a good thing for us tennis players” that the new pope likes to play the sport. Even if Leo XIV jokingly said he wouldn’t want to arrange a game with the top-ranked player — ostensibly because of his name.

During a meeting between the new American pope and international media on Monday, journalists offered to play doubles, or to organize a charity match. Leo seemed game, “but we can’t invite Sinner,” he said in an apparent reference to the English meaning of Sinner’s last name.