"A moment that will remain forever in my heart," Halep meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican
Simona Halep is now enjoying her retirement. After playing her final tournament last February in her hometown of Cluj-Napoca, the 33-year-old Romanian, a former world No. 1, was honored in recent days by the Romanian Tennis Federation.
The federation organized a ceremony in the presence of the two-time Grand Slam champion to formalize a change at the country's national tennis center in Bucharest, which now bears Halep's name.
But that's not all—in recent hours, Simona Halep visited the Vatican and met the new Pope Leo XIV, as she shared on her social media.
"Rome, you have completely won me over. A moment that will remain forever in my heart. Thank you to everyone who made this possible," the Romanian champion wrote on her Instagram account.
For context, Leo XIV was elected as the new pope following the death of Francis and began his papacy on May 8, 2025, after the Argentine's 12-year reign. Francis passed away at the age of 88 on April 21 of last year, Easter Monday.
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