pope

ROME — 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-round 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.”

Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, said she nearly joined the crowds running to St. Peter’s Square when she got an alert on her phone that a new pope had been elected.

“But I realized with the match the next day it’s probably not smart to run like a mile sprinting,” Gauff said after winning her opening match.

“Hopefully he watches some women’s tennis,” Gauff said. “I don’t know if popes go to sporting events … but maybe he’ll come to a match in the future.”

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.