What are the quintessential sounds associated with Wimbledon? For years it was the distinctly patrician tones of the late great television commentator Dan Maskell, who between 1949 and 1991 served up a volley of trademark exclamations: “Oh, I say!”, “dream of a backhand!”, “quite extraordinary!”.

You’d be forgiven for thinking John McEnroe did nothing but scream “You cannot be serious” during his playing years at the All England Club, such did his famous outburst take on a life and legend of its own.

Fans today might nominate, in no particular order: the backdrop audio of chair umpires announcing scores, the screeches and grunts of players as they whack balls at phenomenal speeds, the chorus of oohs and aahs that resonate from Centre Court, the random pattern of polite applause arising from the grid of outside courts, the popping of champagne corks, the cheers of an electrified Henman Hill…

Or the Voice of Wimbledon, whose warm, helpful, authoritative and somewhat avuncular tones welcome visitors to the Grounds each day. But who is the person behind the announcements that are the tournament’s equivalent of “This is your captain speaking”?

A round of applause please for Johnny Perkins, whose disembodied voice shares the pain of rain with regular cheerful updates, reminds visitors to drink water, wear sunscreen and not to leave their bags unattended, steers them to the Wimbledon app and even offers tips on where to find food and large screens.

His cockpit is essentially a cupboard off a corridor in the Referee’s Office. The walls are adorned with a screen of scoreboards, a site map and decorative Wimbledon posters. On the desk is the all-important audio console.

At 9.48am (just over 10 minutes before the Stewards open the gates to the public), he closes the door, switches on the illuminated Do Not Enter sign, puts headphones on, talks to the engineers to key up the correct areas for the messages to go to, takes a swig of water and counts down to the moment he can press the button to go live. “And off we go,” he says. “It’s a bit like going out to bat at cricket.”

Many of the housekeeping announcements are pre-recorded, but the daily welcome is scripted daily to reflect the order of play and the weather, and goes out live.

Rather like the safeguarding measures around pressing a nuclear button, a remote audio engineering team tee up the system live ready for Johnny to unleash his messages, controlling the areas into which the announcements will be heard.

“The No.1 rule is tennis is king. You shut up,” he says. “But I do sometimes have to make the final call, ‘Will all those with Centre Court seats, please take your seat now.’”

It is, of course, a reactive role. When rain stops play on the outside courts, the announcer is part of the holy triumvirate which considers how best to manage the expectations of the crowd.

“In consultation with the Referee and Grand Slam supervisors, and the meteorological analysts, we discuss when to update spectators with ‘No play before’ timings while making sure the gap is long enough to call the players back on court.”

Those days can be frenetic, but with no more rain forecast for the 2025 Championships, it’s back to quieter days until finals weekend when The Voice becomes visible.

For the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Wheelchair Singles finals on No.1 Court, and for the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals on Centre Court, Johnny stands at the back of the field of play to introduce those who are performing the coin toss ceremonies, selected by four charities supported by The Wimbledon Foundation, the official charity of the AELTC and The Championships.

Inspiring young people nominated for coin toss ceremonies

The first post-Covid Championships in 2021 served up a memorable moment when Johnny was called up on Centre Court to lead a one-off First Day welcome.

“It was a special occasion to introduce the scientists and medics in the Royal Box who were on the frontline of the response to the pandemic.

“When it was time to introduce the players, I announced Jack Draper who was a wild card and the crowd cheered so loudly that I found myself introducing the defending champion Nooooovaaaak Djokovic as if he were a boxer entering the ring.

“It was not the usual Wimbledon tone, but totally in tune with the spirit of the day.”

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