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
CHINESE FISHERMEN FISHING WITH RARE TECHNIQUE

SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .

BOSTON MARATHON PICTURES

T least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .

BIG FOOT 'JESUS BIRD'

THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .

STUNNING ENGLISH COASTAL LANDSCAPES

WITH STUNNING colours and serene scenes, these photographs capture the otherworldly beauty of the English coast .

PUTIN'S TINY ARMY 

Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms .

RING OF FIRE ECLIPSE IN OZ

THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: TWINS SPEND £150,000 TO LOOK IDENTICAL

TWIN SISTERS from Australia have taken their sisterly bond to the extreme by spending £150,000 to look IDENTICAL .

LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

LIFE-LIKE PENCIL DRAWINGS

AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .

SPECTACLED BEAR IS CHRISTMAS STAR ON ZOO’S TREE

Most people have an angel at the top of their Christmas tree, but one bear at Chester Zoo decided he wanted to be the star of the show .

SNOWHERE TO HIDE MY NUTS! RARE RED SQUIRRELS FROLIC IN THE SNOW

If you had to scrape the snow off your car this morning or slip-slide your way into work over icy pavements spare a thought for these little critters .

DAUGHTER KILLED HERSELF AFTER BEING RAPED – BUT SAVED FOUR PEOPLES' LIVES THROUGH ORGAN DONATION

A woman whose daughter committed suicide after being raped as a child, has revealed she donated her organs - saving four peoples’ lives .