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
I LOST HALF MY WEIGHT AND BECAME A WOMAN

Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror .

HONEYMOON BRIDE DIED OF HEROIN OVERDOSE

A coroner stunned an inquest into a honeymooner who died abroad today by asking her husband if he was involved in her drugs death .

LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL

HOTSPOT MEDIA - LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL: Zoe Mitchell when she was two-weeks-old .

JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK

PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .

THIRSTY SQUIRREL TAKES A BREAK

DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .

BULLIES CRUELLY CALLED ME “PIG NOSE” AND “NO NOSE” - NOW I’VE EMBRACED MY FACIAL DIFFERENCE AND FEEL BEAUTIFUL

A woman has revealed how cruel bullies taunted her daily at school, calling her names like 'pig nose' and 'no nose' .

HAVING A HOOT: BABY OWL HAS A CHUCKLE

Something appears to have tickled this baby owl as he seems to be having a real HOOT .

BIRD FISHING

DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .

BATHING BEAR CUB

A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .

CHUCKLING SEAL

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

SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS

A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .

TINY CHRISTMAS ANGEL, SIX, IS SIZE OF TWO YEAR OLD

Pint- size Maci Winters only has one wish this Christmas - to be as tall as the other boys and girls on the school playground .