⚡ FLASH NEWS: The tennis world erupts as Jannik Sinner reveals what he said after meeting the Pope, calling it one of the most emotional moments of his life ⚡IH
The Italian star had been suspended from tennis for three months, but was set to make his ATP Tour return at his home tournament in Rome.
Before he made his return to the court, Sinner met up with the new Pope, Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican.
Sinner presented his racket to the Pope and asked if he wanted to play, but the pontiff looked up at the lights and thought better of it.
During a press conference at the Italian Open, Sinner shared his thoughts on his meeting with the Pope.
Jannik Sinner was ‘very honored’ to meet the new Pope
After beating Casper Ruud to qualify for the semifinals of the Italian Open, Sinner was asked about his encounter with the new Pope.
“It was a bit with the Federation and everything. Amazing, honestly. I never experienced something like this,” he said.
“I was very honored. I didn’t know exactly, really, what to say, no? It was a very emotional thing, also with my parents there.
“It was very nice. It was something I will never forget, that’s for sure.
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“Yeah, it’s something else, really. It’s very difficult to say how it was because I never experienced something like this.
“I met important people in my young life. This was just something else. I was very honored, and I appreciate that.”
Sinner certainly enjoyed the experience, but did it inspire him to win the Italian Open?
How did Jannik Sinner perform at the 2025 Italian Open?
Playing his first match since winning the Australian Open in January, Sinner defeated Mariano Navone in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
The Italian then took down Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong and Francisco Cerundolo to make his way through to the quarterfinals.
What followed was one of the most dominant performances of the year, as Sinner crushed Ruud 6-0, 6-1 to ease into the last four.
There, he was met with more resistance, dropping a set to America’s Tommy Paul, before battling back to win in three, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Qualifying for the final in his first tournament back from suspension, Sinner met his greatest rival, Carlos Alcaraz.
The first set of the final was competitive, with Alcaraz clinching it in a tiebreaker 7-6 [7-5], although the same couldn’t be said about the second.
Alcaraz rushed ahead, winning 7-6, 6-1, to lift the Italian Open trophy for the first time in his career.
Sinner was understandably disappointed with the result, but was pleased with his efforts on his return to tennis.
“It’s something very, very special playing here in Italy, in Rome. They pick me up like a small child, no? The support was amazing,” said Sinner during his post-match press conference.
“For sure, there are some things, like we saw today, that we have to improve if we want to do well in Paris.
“I am closer than expected in a way of everything. But in the other way, it was good. It was a great week for me.
“Some matches incredibly well, some matches could be better. But this is tennis. It’s a lot of ups and downs.
“But no, everything together, it was a good, good tournament.”
Sinner narrowly missed out on the French Open title shortly after, but beat his rival Alcaraz to the Wimbledon title later in the Summer.
