VICTORIAN TENNIS RULE BOOK REVEALS GAME PLAYED BY THREE
TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book. Our ancestors started playing the game outdoors for the first time thanks to a Birmingham lawyer who experimented with the sport. Instead of the Wimbledon as we know it with strict singles and doubles teams with no mixing of the sexes the early Victorians were MORE liberal. In a version called the Unicorn one player could play against two opponents. And while ladies were discouraged from playing - they were permitted to battle against the men. This means if Wimbledon was played the Victorian way we could be looking at a big female name like Serena Williams playing the likes of Murray AND Djokovic. History buffs of the sport insist the 1874 'Lawn tennis or Pelota rules of the game' by Thomas Henry Gem was the first of its kind. Former PE teachers Sue Elks, 69, and Christopher Elks, 68, from Wythall in the West Midlands explained the difference the modern game has with the tennis of yesteryear.
Other great stories
DOUBLE OR NOTHING: TWINS SPEND £150,000 TO LOOK IDENTICAL
TWIN SISTERS from Australia have taken their sisterly bond to the extreme by spending £150,000 to look IDENTICAL .
WOMAN SPENDS £20K A YEAR ON 30 PET PUGS
Meet the dog-loving woman who spends £20k a year looking after her 30 pet PUGS .
PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS NIGHT AND DAY IN CITYSCAPES
ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .
KUNG-FU LEOPARD CUBS
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
GRAND PRIX-INSPIRED ESPRESSO MACHINE
This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .
REAL LIFE DOLLS HOUSE
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
SWALLOW WHOLE - YOUNG BIRD ENJOYS DINNER TIME
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
ANCIENT ABANDONED WEBSITES THAT STILL WORK TODAY
A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .
LIVING ON WATER: REFUGEES BUILD A LIFE AT SEA
SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .
HUBBY DRUGGED THEN RAPED ME FROM AGED 15 AND I GOT JUSTICE 30 YEARS LATER
Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .