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05/09 10:53 CDT Pope Leo XIV is a tennis player. Tsitsipas would be happy to
hit some balls with him
Pope Leo XIV is a tennis player. Tsitsipas would be happy to hit some balls
with him
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
ROME (AP) --- It was fitting that when Pope Leo XIV was elected, the Italian
Open tennis tournament was being played just up the road from the Vatican.
Because tennis is the sport that the first American pope likes to play.
"I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player," Leo, the Chicago-born
Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost, said in a 2023 interview with the
Augustinian Order after taking over the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for
Bishops following years as a missionary in Peru.
"Since leaving Peru I have had few occasions to practice so I am looking
forward to getting back on the court," Leo added. "Not that this new job has
left me much free time for it so far."
While the Mediterranean climate in Rome makes tennis a year-long outdoor sport
and there are courts all over the capital, Leo will likely have even less time
to play now that he's the pope.
But Greek pro Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been ranked as high as No. 3, said he
would be happy to hit some balls with Leo if he finds the time.
"Why not?" Tsitsipas said when asked by The Associated Press after winning his
second-round match on Friday. "I feel like figures like this maybe can teach
humans things. ... I feel lucky that I was here when that got announced."
When Leo was elected and then introduced at the Vatican on Thursday,
first-round tennis matches were being played at the Foro Italico.
An image of Leo was shown on the Campo Centrale scoreboard during a changeover
of Jacob Fearnley's win over Fabio Fognini. And on the outside walls of the
stadium, a jumbo screen was tuned to a news channel covering the announcement
of the new pope.
Leo's brother says the new pope is also a fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball
team.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
