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
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*.
WOMAN LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER SETTING HER FACE ON FIRE WHILE LIGHTING A CIGARETTE
A mum-of-two has revealed how she accidentally set her face on fire while lighting a cigarette.
RABID GIRL BIT NIGHTCLUBBER BECAUSE SHE WAS HUNGRY
A woman who left a fellow nightclubber needing plastic surgery after savagely biting her on the hand because she was hungry, has been spared prison.
SNEAKY OTTER
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish.
FACES OF ORPHAN VICTIMS OF AGENT ORANGE
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare.
PARROT RIDES ON THE TUBE
Pic By HotSpot Media - PARROT RIDES ON THE TUBE - THIS pretty boy could be forgiven for forgetting his Oyst-aaarrrgh-card.
PRAYING MANTIS MAKES AN UNLIKELY FRIEND
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard.
HOUSEWORK-OUT
STEPFORD wives from the 1950's and 60's are performing history's most sexist exercise programme.
PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM
A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child.
TEEN GIRL TRUCKER YOUNGEST IN UK
Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER.
POLAR BEAR STRETCHES
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice.