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
SUMMER’S OVER! SQUIRREL CLINGS TO UMBRELLA IN THE RAIN
An adorable red squirrel says goodbye to the summer as he shelters from the rain underneath a small blue umbrella .
WORLD’S ONLY ONE ARMED PRO-DJ
DANCE guru Matt Howes leaves crowds in a spin when he gets behind the decks - as the world's only one-armed professional DJ .
PRAIRIE DOG AND STARLING STAND-OFF
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut .
AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .
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 .
VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
GLOWWORMS LIGHT UP TOURIST TRAIL
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .
STUNNING ICEBERGS
In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .
BRITISH BEACH-LIFE SPLIT SHOTS
UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .
OWNER PREVENTED FROM FINDING CAT UNDER DATA PROTECTION ACT
A mother has spoken of her outrage after discovering her missing cat had been stolen - only to be told she cannot have its location due to the Data Protection Act .
NINJA RED SQUIRREL
A NINJA red squirrel cuts a dashing figure as the little fella jumps up to ten-feet between treetops in the Yorkshire Dales .
OWNER REUNITED WITH PETLOG CAT AFTER KEEPERS HAND HIM BACK
A family who were refused the location of their missing cat under the Data Protection Act have been reunited with their moggie after the keepers handed him back .