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
SHEEPDOG GIVES BIRTH TO BUMPER LITTER OF 14 PUPS
One sheepdog is taking a well-deserved rest after giving birth to a whole WHEELBARROW-FUL of puppies .
GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER
DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .
MOST DANGEROUS ROAD IN THE WORLD
AT 4,800 metres high and just three metres wide, this is the most dangerous road in the world .
HUBBY DRUGGED THEN RAPED ME FROM AGED 15 AND I GOT JUSTICE 30 YEARS LATER
Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .
NOSEY POLAR BEAR INSPECTS TOURIST'S TRUCK
STANDING on its hind legs, a nosey polar bear presses its paws against the window of a truck and takes a peek at the tourist inside .
PEEKABOO SQUIRRELS EMERGE FROM THEIR NEST
SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
HUNGRY WHITE-TAILED KITE
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
HIS BAIT WAS SEALED
15-foot-long great white sharks on the hunt, in False Bay, South Africa - SHOCK and awe pictures of 15-foot-long great whites on the hunt will leave you stunned .
THUG FISH LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT BATTER PHOTOGRAPHER
STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .
TRANS WOMAN'S £100K TRANSFORMATION FUNDED BY ONLINE FANS
A transgender woman has revealed how she was able to fund her transformation using £100K gifted to her by online admirers .
ADORABLE POLAR BEAR CUBS PLAY-FIGHT IN THE SNOW
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .