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
UNIQUE CAVE RESTAURANT

DINING under the stars, this restaurant takes you back in time - inside an ancient cave .

SEEING DOUBLE - A TWO HEADED TURTLE BORN AT TEXAS ZOO

The San Antonio Zoo in Texas has welcomed a bizarre new addition - a two-headed turtle named Thelma and Louise .

PICTURED: WORLD’S BEST FOR BALLOONING

Hot Air Balloon tour across Cappadocia, Turkey – With the sun rising in the distance and the spectacular landscapes below, these are the breathtaking views afforded from a hot air balloon flight in Turkey .

STUNNING ICEBERGS

In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .

BEAUTIFUL BRITISH LANDSCAPES

FROM the rolling hills of the Scottish highlands to looming chalk cliffs in Sussex, these stunning photographs capture the spectacular beauty of Great Britain .

JEALOUS EX TERRORISED ME FOR FIVE MONTHS

Heart pounding, Rebecca Cain jumped as a car door slammed on the street outside .

COUPLE CELEBRATE THEIR 70TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND RECEIVE SPECIAL CARD FROM NEWLY CROWNED KING CHARLES

A couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week and have received a special card from newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla .

£10,000 REWARD FOR JOHN ANSLOW

Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .

36 YEAR AGE GAP COUPLE MISTAKEN FOR DAD AND DAUGHTER

A couple from Bristol have told that they are often mistaken for father and daughter because of their huge 36 year age gap .

SCHOOL BULLIES WON'T STOP BIRTHMARK TEEN'S HOLLYWOOD DREAM

A teenager bullied for having birthmarks all over her body now hopes to become a Hollywood actress to show girls that beauty comes from being unique .

KISS OF LIFE TODDLER

A toddler has shrugged off death an incredible 10 times thanks to his parents who revive him with the kiss of life every two weeks .

WOMAN RECORDED VIOLENT BF STRANGLING HER AND THREATENING TO KILL HER WITH A KNIFE- WHEN HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER SHE SAW HIM JAILED

Gabrielle Dale, 26, was subjected to seven years of coercive control and physical abuse at the hands of her violent boyfriend Sean Owen, 29 .