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
JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE
JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .
MINI WONDERS OF THE WORLD
WONDERS of the world have been transformed into their mini-versions in a seven-year round the world adventure .
CHRISTMAS SNOWMAN ATTRACTS CURIOUS SQUIRREL
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .
DERELICT MANSION
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
LOVE RAT FIANCE CHEATED WITH MY MUM
When Kylie Holgate discovered her fiancé was having an affair, her world came crashing down .
KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED
She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence .
TUNNEL FOR VICTORY
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
MIRACLE MAN SURVIVES 13,000ft FALL WHEN PARACHUTE FAILS
A skydiver cheated death after plunging 13,000 feet without his parachute opening but survived after landing in a bog .
TEEN WITH 100s OF BIRTHMARKS BEATS BULLIES TO EMBRACE BEAUTY
A teenage girl nicknamed 'spotty dog' by school bullies has embraced the hundreds of birthmarks that cover her entire face and body .
FROZEN BUBBLES CREATE STUNNING ICE CRYSTALS
A soap bubble lands on the frosty ground and creates a shimmering snow globe as crystals form around it .
COUPLE TIE THE KNOT IN SPECTACULAR £45K HARRY POTTER WEDDING
A couple have tied the knot in a spectacular Harry Potter-themed wedding which cost £45,000 .
MONKEY BUSINESS
GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .