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
SLOTH SANCTUARY
SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .
BIG FOOT 'JESUS BIRD'
THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .
WOMAN OVERCOMES THIGH GAP OBSESSION AND BEATS ANOREXIA
A university graduate who was obsessed with achieving a thigh gap has told how she shrunk to just 6st after developing anorexia athletica .
WORLD'S MOST IDYLLIC BOMB SITE BEAUTY
WELCOME to the Hidden Beach - the world's most idyllic BOMB SITE .
FROZEN WATERFALL
A DARING duo take their chances and scale this spectacular 82ft frozen waterfall before it collapses .
LEFT LOOKING LIKE QUASIMODO AFTER JEALOUS LOVE RIVAL WHACKED ME IN THE HEAD WITH A HAMMER
In May 2021, on the night when Jayde Logan, 31, rekindled her relationship with her ex, she ended up scarred for life .
SHY SEAL HIDES BEHIND ITS FLIPPER
HIDING behind its flipper, this little seal comes over a little camera shy .
HOUNDTON TABBY
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
WOMAN LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER HER CHILDHOOD FRIEND BATTERED HER WITH A COSH AND BROKE HER NOSE IN VICIOUS ATTACK
A mum-of-two has revealed how her childhood friend of 20 years attacked her with a cosh and broke her nose in a vicious attack .
COUGAR: I FELL FOR MAN 18YRS MY JUNIOR BUT MY SONS DIDN'T COME TO OUR WEDDING
A woman has revealed how she left her husband of 24 years, after falling in love with a man, 18 years her junior .
BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .