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
STRANDED POLAR BEAR
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES
THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .
ADORABLE CHRISTMAS BABIES
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .
WOMAN SAYS EATING BUBBLES WHILE PREGNANT WAS BETTER THAN SEX
A woman has told how her addiction to eating bath bubbles during her pregnancy was better than SEX .
IRISH WOMAN FIRST ADULT IN WORLD TO GET BIONIC SPINE
AN Irish woman has become the first adult in the world to receive a revolutionary REMOTE CONTROLLED 'ROBO SPINE', which uses magnets to combat the effects of scoliosis .
FLORESCENT PLANKTON LIGHT UP AUSTRALIAN SEA
An Australian beach is illuminated by an enticing neon blue glow as a rare phenomenon lights up the water .
WORLD'S FIRST SIGN LANGUAGE RESTAURANT
A world's first restaurant has opened in Canada, where having your order fall on deaf ears is a good thing .
ENGLISH SEASIDE SPLIT SHOTS
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
SLOTH SANCTUARY
SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .
NOT FIT FOR DOGS - RSPCA RESCUERS FIND ANIMALS IN SHOCKING FILTH
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
RECORD BREAKING GRAN'S COLLECTION OF NEARLY 800 SHEEP
RECORD BREAKING GRAN'S COLLECTION OF NEARLY 800 SHEEP HOTSPOT MEDIA – WITH PICS 0121 551 1004 By Katie Thompson A record-breaking baa-rmy gran with a love for sheep has amassed a collection of nearly 800 woolly wonders .
FIRST SHOES, FIRST STEPS FOR MENINGITIS TOT
Oday she is a picture of health - a happy, smiling child, enjoying life to the full .