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
FROZEN WATERFALL
A DARING duo take their chances and scale this spectacular 82ft frozen waterfall before it collapses .
LAST MILITARY HOSPITAL TIME CAPSULE
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
WORLD'S CRAZIEST BEARDS
CRAZY BEARDS come into their GROWN when they've been twisted and waxed into shape .
ABANDONED PLAZA HOTEL
The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
TAXIDERMY ART BOOK
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .
SLAM DUNK DA FISH
THIS is the incredible moment a pelican throws a fish into the air and SLAM DUNKS it into its enormous throat sack .
IDYLLIC ICELAND
With stunning scenery and otherworldly vistas, Iceland’s rural beauty is inescapable – especially for Hollywood .
OSPREY FISHING IN SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
An osprey soars through the air at 30 miles per hour before swooping down to catch its prey from a lake .
THE EVOLUTION OF GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
PEACE and love filled the 1980’s Glastonbury fields as relaxed festival goers kicked back and soaked up the atmosphere .
SHIVERING SQUIRREL
THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .
WOMAN TOLD BY EMIRATES STAFF SHE’D BE ‘BANGED UP ABROAD’ OVER DIAZEPAM
A woman with a fear of flying claims she was humiliated after an Emirates airline staff member told her she could ‘go to prison for four years’ for possessing diazepam medication .
MY SLEEPING BEAUTY NIGHTMARE
MEET the real life sleeping beauty - who snoozed for TWO months when a rare sleep disorder took over her life and turned it into a nightmare .