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
SPLASHING KINGFISHER

CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD

SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .

HOLY COW! DARING FARMERS IN THRILLING CATTLE RACE

An Indonesian farmer is dragged through muddy water as he clings to the tails of two charging cows .

LEAPING WOOD MOUSE

LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .

AMAZING THUNDERSTORM LIGHTS UP THE SARDINIAN COAST

POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .

SLOTH SANCTUARY

SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .

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 .

SNOWCAP SQUIRREL

WITH A LITTLE cap of fresh snow resting on his head, this squirrel tries his best to pull off his new look .

SPECTACULAR SCENERY AT CHILEAN OBSERVATORIES

An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .

LIVING ON WATER: REFUGEES BUILD A LIFE AT SEA

SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .