A charity tennis match at the Vatican would have a small list of guests – but it wouldn't even include the top men's player in the world.

Pope Leo XIV recently said he considered himself "quite the amateur tennis player," but one notable name would be omitted in this hypothetical match.

During a meeting between the new American pope and international media on Monday, journalists offered to play doubles, or to organize a charity match.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The pope is all for it, but the top-ranked player would be ousted through no fault of his own: his last name.

"But we can't invite [Jannik] Sinner," the pope cracked.

Sinner has won three grand slams, all of which have come since the 2024 Australian Open, and has quickly turned himself into the best player on the planet.

At age 23, Sinner has skyrocketed through the world rankings, and has won back-to-back grand slams.

But it doesn't sound like he's visiting Pope Leo XIV any time soon.

In the pope's defense, he does have a halfway decent excuse to exclude Sinner. 

Back in February, he was given a three-month suspension by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after twice testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid nearly a year ago. 

The ban came just weeks after the Italian tennis pro won his third Grand Slam title – the suspension, though, avoided any Grand Slams.

It was found that Sinner had not intentionally used a banned substance for competitive gain. 

Sinner tested positive for low levels of metabolite of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use, in March 2024. Eight days after the Indian Wells tournament, Sinner tested positive again in an out-of-competition sample. 

According to the ITIA’s initial findings, Sinner explained that he had tested positive after receiving a massage from a trainer who had used an over-the-counter spray that contained clostebol to treat a small wound after cutting his own finger. 

Sinner's suspension was lifted on May 4, and he is currently playing in his home country at the Italian Open. He will be on the hunt for his fourth grand slam when the French Open begins May 25.

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

FIRST ON FOX: The United States is set to welcome 49 white South African refugees who are victims of "government-sponsored racial discrimination" in their homeland, according to the State Department. 

The U.S.-chartered flight touched down at Dulles Airport in Virginia on Monday afternoon, when Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the group of Afrikaners. 

"Faced with undeniable government-sponsored racial discrimination in South Africa, the first Afrikaner refugees have arrived in the United States," a senior State Department official said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. 

"The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program was intended for situations like this. Under President Trump's strong leadership, the State Department has helped to provide a new life for these refugees in America, where they will live in freedom, safety, and opportunity."

TRUMP TO BRING WHITE AFRIKANERS TO US AS REFUGEES FROM SOUTH AFRICA, IN WAKE OF EXPROPRIATION LEGISLATION

President Donald Trump first initiated their resettlement with an executive order entitled, "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa," directing the State Department to bump up Afrikaners to the front of the line for resettlement. 

South Africans are now able to submit a statement of interest with the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, which will review the documents and contact those who are eligible for the interview process. 

Trump has virtually halted the refugee program for those from war- and famine-ravaged nations like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. White South Africans say they have been denied jobs and targeted for violence on account of their race. 

Trump’s executive order came in response to a law passed by the South African government allowing it to take private land for public use, sometimes without compensation. Trump claimed the law would be used to target South Africa’s White minority Afrikaner group, descended from Dutch and other European settlers who arrived more than 300 years ago. 

TRUMP, SOUTH AFRICA IN GROWING ROW OVER HOTLY CONTESTED LAND LAW, COUNTRY'S DEALS WITH US FOES

The South African foreign ministry said claims that White South Africans faced a "well-founded fear of persecution" were "unfounded." 

"It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy; a country which has in fact suffered true persecution under Apartheid rule and has worked tirelessly to prevent such levels of discrimination from ever occurring again," spokesperson Chrispin Phiri at the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation added. 

The Afrikaners’ arrival comes as Trump tries to push back on the racial politics of South Africa, where adviser Elon Musk grew up during apartheid. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Afrikaner families traveling to the U.S. are largely from farming communities. 

Since apartheid ended in the 1990s, South Africa has sought to atone for segregationist policies, including with the land redistribution law signed in January. The policy came after a 2017 audit found that White South Africans owned three-quarters of individually-owned farms and agricultural property, while making up 7% of the population. Black South Africans had been denied the right to own prime agricultural land during the apartheid era.