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
BENGAL TIGER PLANS ATTACK ON UNSUSPECTING DEER
SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .
GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD
SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .
BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC
A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .
ADORABLE PENGUINS HATCH AT UK ZOO
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
DAUGHTER KILLED HERSELF AFTER BEING RAPED – BUT SAVED FOUR PEOPLES' LIVES THROUGH ORGAN DONATION
A woman whose daughter committed suicide after being raped as a child, has revealed she donated her organs - saving four peoples’ lives .
BABY WITH HEART-SHAPED BIRTHMARK CONCEIVED ON VALENTINE'S DAY
An adorable baby girl was born with a heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead - after being conceived on Valentine's Day .
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO LIFE
BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .
ELECTROSENSITIVITY: USING AN IPAD COULD MAKE ME MISCARRY AGAIN
A mother-to be has told how she cannot go near an iPad in case she suffers another miscarriage due to her intense sensitivity to electromagnetic waves .
OPEN WIDE! MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
DRIVER TRAPPED UNDER 4x4 FOR AN HOUR IN HORRIFIC MOTORWAY CRASH
This was the chaotic scene when the driver of a 4x4 vehicle became periously trapped under his vehicle for an HOUR when it overturned after a crash on a busy motorway .