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
IDYLLIC ICELAND
With stunning scenery and otherworldly vistas, Iceland’s rural beauty is inescapable – especially for Hollywood .
TEMPLE OF ZOOM
WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .
UNUSUAL ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .
MAN AND TOY PIG SEARCH WORLD FOR MISSING CUDDLY COMPANION
An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .
NEW FLEECE OF LIFE FOR WHEEL CHAIR SHEEP
A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .
MUM SPEAKS OUT AFTER EX TORTURED HER IN THREE HOUR ATTACK
A mum-of-two, who was scarred for life in a brutal attack at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, is now urging others to leave their abusive partners .
ON A WINGSUIT AND A PRAYER - FASTEST FLYING WOMAN IN THE WORLD
SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .
BRITISH BEACH-LIFE SPLIT SHOTS
UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .
TEEN DANCER ROBBED OF TALENTS AFTER SCOLIOSIS SURGERY
A scoliosis sufferer was heartbroken to learn surgery would stop her dancing - but she battled through the pain to complete her GCSE dance exams and earn A* .
VETERAN BEATEN IN REMEMBRANCE WEEKEND ATTACK
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
AMAZING LIGHTNING PHOTOGRAPHY
STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .