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
GOING BALLISTIC - 15 FOOT RED BALL ARTIST

This is the crazy art project that is going ballistic - placing a huge squishy 15ft red ball into tight spaces .

ROAD KILL ON THE MENU

A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .

ADORABLE SQUIRREL TRIES HER HAND AT PHOTOGRAPHY

A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .

GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL

RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .

GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL

A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .

MENINGITIS BOY TAKES FIRST STEPS ON PROSTHETIC LIMBS

An eight-year-old boy who lost his legs and left hand to meningitis is standing tall after learning to walk on his prosthetic limbs .

CAN YOU TWERK IT OUT? - MILEY CYRUS LOOKALIKE

Walking down the street in her local town, heads turn as Jessica Villafane passes by .

CHEEKY BABY ORANGUTAN

CLIMBING, falling and tugging on his weary mum, this little orangutan is up to all kinds of trouble .

SNOWCAP SQUIRREL

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

PHILEAS FROG: KERMIT'S WORLD TRAVELS CONTINUE PREV

A Kermit the Frog toy made famous by travelling the world is still globehopping, having racked up an incredible 420,000 kilometres to some of the world's furthest flung places .