Among the many invasions that Rome has suffered in its history, there is a recent one that sparked a religious war between those who embraced the conqueror and those who chose to resist him: that of padel.
From this silent conflict, the ‘racket derby’ between padel and tennis, ‘Lob – Life is a lob’ originates, a short novel and a small detective story that unfolds between the two sports. The author, Giampaolo Roidi, is a journalist – editor-in-chief at the Messaggero – but above all a connoisseur of the two worlds, having practiced both.
The story is set in the imaginary Antico Ponte Tevere, a historic club in the capital like there are many overlooking the river, “not exclusive but not popular”, “a tennis club that has remained proudly so for 70 years”. In an extraordinary meeting its 358 members must decide whether or not to accept a commercial and sporting proposal that could change the history of those sixteen fields forever. “Voting”, as the author explains, “whether or not it is worth defending and preserving one’s history and whether, ultimately, a certain idea of community and even society is still relevant”.The mysterious death of a historic partner it will be the key moment of confrontation and will open the door to a disturbing future.
True protagonist of the book, published by Absolutely Free Libri for the ‘sport.doc’ series, it’s the lob as a metaphor for lifenot the ‘lob’-passer pulled to surprise the opponent, but “a very high ‘bell tower’ with no rotation”, “an infamous shot, the move of the king left alone on the board who does not abandon and aims to stalemate, aiming everything about the enemy’s mistakes, about his fragility”. The shot that the architect Arnaldo Morelli “had made into a lethal weapon”.
The story takes place over five days, hence the subtitle “Tennis vs Padel: the five day war”, and takes the reader into the atmosphere and in the neuroses of a sports club in the capital, a cross-section of Roman society in which esteemed professionals, journalists and trade unionists move. In the background, on the pitch as in life, “the eternal duel between the volleyball players and the fanatics of hitting the net”.