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
UNIQUE TREEHOUSES: A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS

WITH LUSH GREEN LANDSCAPES stretching out as far as the eye can see, you're in for a treat at these one of a kind treehouses .

CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .

IT'S A WATERING CAN-VAS

AS graffiti goes, this giant mural of a sweet little girl tenderly watering a tree beneath her is a far cry from what you usually see emblazoned across cities .

HUNGRY WHITE TIGER DIVES FOR FOOD

This hungry white tiger has just one thing on her mind - to taste fresh meat .

MOODY GORILLA

SAT with his arms folded and a cross look on his face, this Gorilla looks like he's had enough of the Christmas holidays already .

ABANDONED PLAZA HOTEL

The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .

SINGLE WOMAN GRANTED NHS IVF HAS BABY AFTER 3 MISCARRIAGES

A single woman, who was granted IVF funding on the NHS, finally has a baby after suffering three miscarriages .

BABY WORKOUT

FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .

'DYING’ SCARE SAVES 3ST ANOREXIC

AN anorexic woman whose heart stopped after she starved herself to 3st has revealed that ‘dying’ for a minute helped shock her into recovery .

MAN AND NATURE

LEAF-ing much to the imagination, this camera trickery is blooming marvellous .

SHY SEAL HIDES BEHIND ITS FLIPPER

HIDING behind its flipper, this little seal comes over a little camera shy .

SLOTH SANCTUARY

SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .