In 1978, the Corriere dello Sport opened its tennis section with the headline: «A member of the Swiss Guard detains a Monsignor». The news would have gone around the world had it not been for the fact that it was actually the chronicle of a tennis tournament on the Vatican court. The Monsignor was the Spaniard Faustino Sainz Muñoz, a native of Almadén, Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus to Great Britain, who was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by the Swiss Pietro Hasler, Major of the Swiss Guard, in the match for third and fourth place in the Friendship Tournament.
In 1977, an old tennis court that existed in the Vatican was renovated in a plan that also included the adjacent gardens. And to celebrate this renovation, the Friendship Tournament was organised, in which those who worked or had a direct relationship with the Vatican administration and organisation could compete. The first winner, who did not deserve the headlines of the sports pages, was Gian Battista Ghislandi, musical coordinator of the Vatican Radio stereo programme. Fortunately, his victory did not cost him his job, as he beat the station’s director, Cardinal Roberto Tucci, a Jesuit who played an important role in the Second Vatican Council and was ordained a cardinal, in the final.
La ‘pallacorda’, the former Real Tennis
The Vatican’s relationship with racquet sports dates back to 1551, when a carpenter was commissioned to build wooden galleries in the corridor of the famous Belvedere courtyard for playing pallacorda, the ancient game of real tennis. They were located below the private apartments that Pope Julius III had built. Various documents confirm the existence of these pallacorda galleries.
A reference of the time to the sculpture of Ariadne sleeping, acquired by Pope Julius II for the courtyard of the statues of the Belvedere, and for many years believed to be Cleopatra, states that it was located in an area adjacent to the ball game hall. Another text says that «the corridor of the Belvedere was an apartment of eleven rooms, for the master and the service of the so-called ball game».
One of the most significant images of this passion can be found in the Vatican Corridor of Beldevere. A 1637 engraving by Domenico Parasacchi in the Corridor Fountain shows two racket players on either side of the sculpture of Adraiana, which has been interpreted as two cardinals. But the Vatican was by no means an exception to the rule that Rome was a city dedicated to the game of pelota. Including the corridor of the Vatican Belvedere, a total of 15 great Roman palaces had one or more tennis courts. And all of them, absolutely all of them, were connected to families with popes, cardinals and influential members of the clergy. It would be quite a challenge for a tour guide to show a tennis-hungry tourist all these places in one day.
15 great Roman palaces had one or more tennis courts
The Quirinal Palace, built by Pope Gregory XIII, had a track for the fashionable sport, as did the Palazzo Firenze, where Francesco di Medici had a track built in 1569, giving rise to the Via Pallacorda that still exists in Rome. Francesco di Medici not only installed the game in Palazzo Firenze, but also enlarged it in Villa Medici on the Pincio hill. Cardinal Alexander Farnese, the future Pope Paul III, built the Palazzo Farnese, now the French Embassy, where the open-air game of «pallacorda» is mentioned and which is said to have been a resting place for cardinals returning from the game. Built by the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, the Altemps Palace, now the National Museum, was also famous for its ball games.
Adjacent to the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, the Palazzo Colonna had two courtyards, one of which was also used for theatrical performances. Legend has it that Dante stayed in this palace during his visit to Rome, and the Via della Pilotta and Piazza della Pilotta still exist around it.
The Palazzio Rospigliosi, built by the Borghese on the ruins of the Contastino Baths, had an enormous courtyard. In 1613, in the Ripetta wing of the Borghese palace, the family also built a court with changing rooms and a staircase leading to a room from which the games could be watched from above.
The court of Palazzo Barberini, built in 1626, was undoubtedly a great attraction. Charles Barberini, of whom there is a painting of him with a tennis racquet and ball dating from 1580, was passionate about the game. His descendants not only have one of the most fantastic art collections on display in their galleries, but also own unique antiques related to the sport. There were also tennis courts in the Sforza, Montegiordano, Condulmer-Orsini-Pio, Strozzi and Villa Ludovisi palaces.
Pope Leo XIV, a tennis fan
Modern tennis, born in Great Britain at the end of the 19th century, did not develop in Roman palaces but in the sports clubs that sprang up in the Italian capital. In the Vatican area there were some courts in the cardinal’s colleges. But the appearance of the Friendship Tournament had an excellent media impact.
After the success of the first edition, the employees of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See dominated the tournament in 1979, both in singles and doubles. In 1981, the tournament became a four-person team competition, with teams from L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Secretariat of State and the Technical Services.
In 1985, the tournament returned to the traditional singles and doubles format, but was also open to the children of Vatican employees in a junior category. Its importance grew as Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta took over the promotion and the awarding of trophies to the champions.
On some occasions, players from the Rome tournament are invited to visit the Holy See and meet the Pope. A few weeks ago, world number one Jannik Sinner was received by Pope Leo XIV, a self-confessed tennis fan.
