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
OH DEER: MOMENT DEER CRASHES THROUGH WINDSCREEN OF BUS

With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .

KRYPONITE BEACH

LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .

EASTER ISLAND REPLICA STATUES DESTROYED IN SEA FALL

A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER BEAR

An American black bear mimics John Travolta’s famous Saturday Night Fever dance move by hurling its arm in the air .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .

PRAYING MANTIS MAKES AN UNLIKELY FRIEND

A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .

LAZY LIZARDS RELAX AND POSE LIKE YODA

With one hand rested on his belly and the other propping his head up, this lazy lizard takes an afternoon break .

RESTLESS BEAR CUB

An adorable black bear cub struggles to find the perfect spot for an afternoon nap as he wriggles around on the branch of a maple tree .

ABANDONED FARM HOUSE LEFT TO ROT

With a dust covered coat hung from a wardrobe door and a pair of glasses left on a shelf, a remote farmhouse lies abandoned in the Welsh countryside .

THIRSTY SQUIRREL TAKES A BREAK

DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .

LOST LEAPING BABY WHALE

LEAPING for joy five-feet above the waves this baby whale cutie is saying HELLO to its family after being lost .

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 .