You rarely catch glimpses of Kader Nouni; the French umpire remains low-key in his lofty chair – but his voice, carrying across and beyond Wimbledon’s Centre Court, is once again having quite the impact at SW19.
Both silken and gravel-filled, veteran referee Nouni’s dulcet tones have already won him a raft of new fans at this year’s tournament – and it’s only day two.
As the 48-year-old officiated on US player Coco Gauff’s opening match against Caroline Dolehide in the first round of the women’s draw, the Frenchman’s calls were all anyone could talk about on social media.
‘The umpire in the Dolehide – Gauff match has the best voice’, gushed one.
Hear we go again…smooth-voiced tennis umpire Kader Nouni made his first appearance on Centre Court at this year’s Wimbledon yesterday, and won over a whole new audience of fans
‘Best voice ever’, another fan, watching last night’s highlights, suggested.
One tennis watcher called it like ‘warm snuggles and honey, but in audio form’.
Those familiar with Nouni’s work namechecked him in their posts.
One penned that his arrival on Centre Court was a sign the tournament had started in earnest, writing: ‘Kader Nouni, a.k.a. The Barry White of Tennis Umpiring, is in the chair for Dolehide vs. Gauff. Wimbledon has truly begun.’
Another wrote: ‘Kader Nouni, the most recognised Baritone voice of tennis umpires, that makes the word Deuce sound like the heavy bass House track, you just gotta love him, such a cool dude!’
The low tones of smooth-voiced Nouni has frequently seen him compared with late US soul singer Barry White, albeit with a French accent.
Nouni grew up in Perpignan in southern France and began his umpire career at the age of 15 at his local tennis club.
The 48-year-old Frenchman has long been popular with spectators on the circuit thanks to his deep voice, with many dubbing him ‘the Barry White of tennis’, referencing the late American soul legend
His latest outing saw him officiate on Coco Gauff’s victory against Caroline Dolehide on Monday
By the age of 16 he was a linesman in the French Open. Since 2005 he has been a professional referee in ATP and WTA tournaments and has won heaps of praise for his sultry tones in previous Wimbledon tournaments.
Nouni said he got into umpiring because he liked to play and watch tennis and felt it offered a professional career for him.
He’s also had other voiceover work thanks to his vocal talents, including recording ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) clips that soothe people.
Nouni’s first outing at this year’s Wimbledon saw him overseeing the final match on Centre Court yesterday, Coco Gauff’s victory against Caroline Dolehide; the 20-year-old American, tipped to go far this year, beat her opponent in a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Monday.
Elsewhere at the tournament, there was disappointment for fans hoping to see Andy Murray play for one final time in the Men’s Singles tournament.
The two-time champion this morning took the ‘very difficult’ decision to withdraw from his first round.
A statement from the 37-year-old’s team read: ‘Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year.
Andy Murray leaves the All England Club today after pulling out of the singles at Wimbledon
‘As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time.’
That means that Murray’s five-set defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court in the second round last year will go down as his last singles match at the All England Club.
He was due to play Czech Tomas Machac, who will now face lucky loser David Goffin – the man Murray famously lobbed to win the Davis Cup.