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
FIREFLIES ILLUMINATE AN ENCHANTING FOREST IN TAIWAN

Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP

A brave cricket takes his chances as he sits on top of this green papua tree frog .

UNUSUAL FRIENDSHIP

MAKING himself at home, this little snail perches happily on top of this frog's head .

PARTNERS IN GRIME

MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .

COUGAR: I FELL FOR MAN 18YRS MY JUNIOR BUT MY SONS DIDN'T COME TO OUR WEDDING

A woman has revealed how she left her husband of 24 years, after falling in love with a man, 18 years her junior .

A HOLE LOT OF TROUBLE! - WOMAN HAS PHOBIA OF HOLES

Meet mother of four, Jackie Wright, whose bizarre fear means she is terrified of HOLES .

WIFE CELEBRATES MARRIAGE BY SNOWBOARDING IN WEDDING DRESS

SNOWBOARDING in your £2,000 wedding dress sounds like a nightmare for most brides .

SMILEY GECKO ENJOYS HIS VIEW FROM THE TOP

Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .

MAN LOSES 20 STONE AFTER FOOD ADDICTION RUNS UP £15K DEBT

A man has lost an incredible 20st after his addiction to food left him £15k in debt .

KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES

THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .

SPRITE LIGHTNING CAPTURED IN AURORA LIGHTS

The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .

CHUCKLING SEAL

CHUCKLING away, this little seal appears to find something hilarious .