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
CUTE MINI LION

MEET the little lion of suburbia with a mane that makes him look like a mini-king of the jungle .

MONKEY BUSINESS

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

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 .

CAMOUFLAGED NORTHERN POTOO BIRD IS A MASTER OF DISGUISE

A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .

AIR OF THE DOG: HILARIOUS FLYING POOCHES

FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .

UNIQUE CAVE RESTAURANT

DINING under the stars, this restaurant takes you back in time - inside an ancient cave .

FALSE KILLER WHALE BEAMS AS HE CATCHES HIS LUNCH

Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .

HUNGRY HIPPO MISSES OUT ON LUNCH

A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .

MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS

MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .

HEAVY RAIN AND WILD WEATHER FOR SOUTHERN ENGLAND AND WALES

Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .

THE ENCHANTING FOREST OF FIREFLIES

WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .

TUNNEL FOR VICTORY

What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .