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
PLAYFUL OWL PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .
SPELLBINDING ENGLISH STAR TRAILS
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
ROAD-KILL CUDDLY TOYS
With their guts spewing and eyes hanging out, these are the cuddly toys children might be reluctant to curl up to .
HER ROYAL i-NESS - THERE'S AN APP TO STEAL KATE'S STYLE
Have you ever wanted to emulate the Duchess of Cambridge's style? Well, now there's an app for that .
VISOR FASHION FAIL
FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .
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 .
SLOTH SANCTUARY
SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .
TROUBLESOME PYLON MEETS EXPLOSIVE END
THIS is the EXPLOSIVE moment when a 50 metre high pylon came crashing down to earth in a rural field .
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 .
WHEELCHAIR BASEJUMPER
THROWING himself off 1,100ft bridges in a wheelchair, this is the PARALYSED base jumper who knows no fear .
WOMAN GAINED 5ST IN A YEAR DUE TO CRIPPLING POSTNATAL DEPRESSION, BUT PHOTO SHOCK SAW HER LOSE 7.5ST AFTER SHE DIDN’T RECOGNISE HERSELF - NOW SHE’S A SLIM SIZE 8
A mother-of-three who weighed almost 16st has revealed how she lost 7 .
NAKED SLACKLINERS TACKLE NEW CHALLENGES
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .