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
AIR-MAZING MCDONALD’S – AEROPLANE TRANSFORMED INTO FAST FOOD RESTAURANT

Diners on this aeroplane are never disappointed with their meal, because the decommissioned aircraft is now home to an air-mazing McDonald’s restaurant .

BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID

HOTSPOT MEDIA - BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID: A POSTAL SORTER has perfected the art of time travel by delivering images that are from the past .

DAUGHTER’S FACEBOOK PLEA FOR STRANGERS TO SAVE DYING MUM

A loving daughter has set up a Facebook page in a desperate plea to strangers, to donate a kidney to her dying mum .

HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE

FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .

HMS ARK ROYAL ARRIVES AT SHIP GRAVEYARD- LANGUISHING

HMS Ark Royal arrives in the Turkish port of Aliaga at the ship scrapping firm Leyal’s yard .

STRANDED MOOSE RESCUED FROM FROZEN LAKE

A terrified moose, trapped in a frozen lake, bobs her head above the icey water and awaits her rescue .

FROG FRIENDS

PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

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 .

WOMAN'S CAR BURST INTO FLAMES AFTER A SEIZURE CAUSED HER TO CRASH INTO A TREE – SHE SUFFERED BURNS TO 40% OF HER BODY AND NOW SHE'S A TRIPLE AMPUTEE

Marisah pictured today with scarring to her left arm - A mother-of-one has revealed how she almost died after suffering a seizure whilst driving that caused her car to crash into a tree and burst into flames .

LONDON HELICOPTER CRASH

A helicopter has crashed landed in Central London .

CHEETAH HUNT

Hot on the heels of a little rabbit, this cheetah is on a mission to catch his prey .