VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner had an audience on Wednesday with the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, himself a keen tennis player, the Vatican said. Sinner was invited to the Vatican along with his parents and a delegation from the Italian Tennis Federation.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, is an avid tennis player and fan and had said that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist.

ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner gave a tennis racket to Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, and the two joked about Wimbledon.