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A charitable tennis match at the Vatican would have a small list of guests – but that wouldn’t even include the best male player in the world.
Pope Leo XIV recently declared that he considered himself “completely the amateur tennis player”, but a notable name would be omitted in this hypothetical match.
During a meeting between the new American pope and the international media on Monday, journalists offered to play double or organize a charity match.
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Jannik Sinner in action against Marcos Giron at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on January 18, 2025. (Images Mike Frey-Imagn)
The Pope is all for that, but the best classified player would be ousted by his own fault: his family name.
“But we cannot invite [Jannik] Sinking, “the pope cracked.
Sinner won three big chelems, who all came from the Australian Open 2024, and quickly turned into a better player on the planet.
At 23, the sinner has skyrocketed in the world ranking and won large consecutive slams.
But it does not seem to visit Pope Leo XIV so early.
Pope Leo XIV delivers the prayer of Regina Caeli since the main Loggia balcony of the Saint-Pierre basilica in the Vatican, May 11, 2025. (Alberto Pizzoli / AFP via Getty Images)
In the defense of the Pope, he has an excuse halfway to exclude the sinner.
In February, he received a three -month suspension by the World Anti -Doping Agency (WADA) after having tested twice positive for an anabolic steroid prohibited almost a year ago.
The prohibition occurred only a few weeks after the Italian tennis pro won its third Grand Slam title – the suspension, however, avoided all of the home.
It was found that the sinner had not intentionally used a prohibited substance For a competitive gain.
The sinner was tested positive for low levels of metabolite of the clostebole, a prohibited anabolic steroid which can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use, in March 2024. Eight days after the Indian Wells tournament, the sinner was tested positive in an out -of -competition sample.
According to the initial results of the ITIA, the sinner explained that he had been tested positive after receiving a massage from a coach who had used an over -the -counter spray which contained clostebol to treat a small injury after cutting his own finger.
Jannik Sinner reacts after having broken Jack Draper’s service at the US Open, on September 6, 2024, in New York. (Photo / kirsty wigglesworth)
Sinner’s suspension was lifted on May 4 and he is currently playing in his country of origin at the Italian Open. He will be looking for his fourth Grand Slam when the French Open starts on May 25.
