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
BABY-FACED BURGLAR NABBED BY JAFFA CAKE

A BABY-faced burglar is starting a seven year stretch in custody after being nabbed by a Jaffa Cake .

STOLEN £2K BULLDOG REUNITED WITH FAMILY VIA TWITTER

STOLEN £2K BULLDOG REUNITED WITH FAMILY VIA TWITTER - A £2,000 bulldog puppy snatched from her home by burglars has been reunited with her family thanks to Twitter .

SIBLING RIVALRY

SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .

COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK

A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .

BABY ELEPHANT HAS FUN IN THE SUN

SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .

BIKINI SWIM WITH JELLYFISH

A BIKINI swim with jellyfish sounds like the most painful past-time on the planet .

BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION

Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .

YOGA BEAR

A bear cub unwinds in a forest in eastern Finland by practicing yoga with a series of stretches .

CHINESE FISHERMEN FISHING WITH RARE TECHNIQUE

SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .

LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE

FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .