Italian Open match interrupted to announce new Pope after player asks question

The sport is back in the Vatican: for the first time since the early years of John Paul II there is again a Pope with Leo XIV, who also likes to be active in sport at an advanced age. Tennis is the passion of the 69-year-old, who was elected new Pope on Thursday evening. In an interview published in September 2023 by his Augustinian Order, Robert Francis Prevost described himself modestly as quite an amateur tennis player. At the same time, he c…

At the time of the entrance of Fabio Fognini on the Central of the Internationals the white smoke and on the maxischermi immediately the images of St. Peter's Square

Italian Open match interrupted to announce new Pope after player asks question

Cheers rang out around the Foro Italico as spectators learned Robert Prevost had been named as the new pope.

The Masters 100 of Rome 2025 (or Internazionali BNL d'Italia) is being held in Rome this week, at the same time as another great world event: the conclave for the election of the successor of Pope Francis... which actually lasted only two days: Thursday, May 9, around 17 local time in Italy in the Vatican, came white smoke from the Sistine Chapel. An hour later, a new Pope was announced: Robert Prevost, Leo XIV.

The moment new Pope Leo XIV was announced in the middle of a tennis match in Rome

The 2025 Italian Open (or Internazionali BNL d'Italia) is taking place in Rome this week, at the same time as other major worldwide event: the conclave for the election of Pope Francis' successor... that actually took just two days: on Thursday, May 9 at around 17 CEST , local time in Italy and the Vatican, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel. An hour later, a new Pope was announced: Robert Prevost, Leo XIV. At the same time as thousands o…

VATICAN CITY. Sport is back in the Vatican: For the first time since the early years of John Paul II there is again a Pope, Leo XIV, who also likes to be active in sport at an advanced age.