By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, Might 8, 2025
Picture credit score: Dan Kitwood/Getty
Tennis has touched the Catholic Church’s non secular chief.
Archbishop Emeritus Robert Francis Prevost made historical past at present as the primary Pope ever from america within the 2,000-year historical past of the Catholic Church.
The brand new Pontiff, who has taken the title Pope Leo XIV, has a historical past as a loyal tennis participant and fan.
Certainly, Pope Leo, whose father was a United States Navy veteran of World Warfare II, graduated from Villanova College with a level in arithmetic again in 1977.
The brand new Pope speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese and grew up a Chicago Cubs fan. Supporters say the Pope’s Cubs fandom has compelled him to confront sports activities struggling on an annual foundation although the Cubs are off to a powerful begin this season.
As of late, Pope Leo is a giant Carlos Alcaraz fan.
The brand new Pope is an Alcaraz fan! https://t.co/z8Aj71P7TX
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) Might 8, 2025
Pope Leo XIV greeted a capability crowd that crammed each nook of St. Peter’s Sq. on the Vatican wishing folks all around the world peace.
The 69-year-old Pope, who’s from Chicago, spent a lot of his profession as a missionary in South America. Standing on the balcony, Pope Leo spoke to the gang in Italian and Spanish.
Pope Leo succeeds the late Pope Francis, an Argentinean Jesuit who was a loyal soccer fan as effectively.
A few years earlier than the 133 voting cardinals within the conclave chosen him as Pope at present, the then archbishop emeritus Robert Prevost of Chiclayo in Peru advised La Nacion he was “a fantastic tennis fan,” who was desperate to get again out on the courtroom.
“I think about myself a fantastic tennis fan,” Robert Francis Prevost, then the archbishop emeritus of Chiclayo advised La Nacion. “Since I left Peru I had few alternatives to observe, so I’m wanting ahead to returning to the courts.”
Given his new function as chief of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo, who praised his predecessor Pope Francis and vowed to proceed his work caring for the struggling, in all probability received’t have an excessive amount of time for tennis. The brand new Pope holds each United States and Peruvian citizenship.
Que al nuevo Papa, Prevost… ¡le gusta el tenis! 🎾“Me considero un tenista beginner. Desde que me fui de Perú he tenido un par de ocasiones de jugar. Estoy deseando volver a la pista”
Se banca desde ahora mismo 😄 pic.twitter.com/kz49jaSyG6
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) Might 8, 2025
As hundreds gathered in St. Peter’s Sq. to see and and listen to the brand new Pope, hundreds of tennis followers have been just a few miles away watching all of the motion on Rome’s purple clay and cheering the brand new Pope’s debut because it was performed over the stadium’s video screens on the Foro Italico.
The brand new pope shouldn’t be: Fabio Fognini https://t.co/Qsz7PKeX8L
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) Might 8, 2025
In fact, a few of tennis high stars—together with Roger Federer and spouse Mirka and Juan Martin del Potro—have met prior Popes. Del Potro, whose beloved rosary was misplaced throughout one in all his worldwide journeys, requested the Pope to bless his alternative rosary.
Right here’s a gallery of some stars previous journeys to the Vatican.
Embed from Getty Photos
Twelve years in the past this month, del Potro traveled to the Vatican to fulfill his fellow Argentinean, Pope Francis.
As a present to His Holiness, del Potro gave Francis his Wilson racquet he used to shock reigning champion Roger Federer for the 2009 US Open title. That reward introduced a giant smile to the Pontiff’s face.
“It was an unbelievable expertise with Pope Francis, one thing that I will always remember,” stated del Potro, who’s from Tandil, about 250 miles from Pope Francis’ dwelling city of Buenos Aires. “It was a dream come true for a man like me. It was an unforgettable second.
“I used to be very nervous earlier than assembly him, to have the ability to congratulate him and discuss with him. He was good. All people is aware of he’s very humble. At present was a day that I will keep in mind for ever.”
Del Potro met the Pope at Mass on the Vatican. Fellow Argentines Carlos Berlocq and Horacio Zeballos, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and Croatia’s Marin Cilic additionally attended.
