Perry began to play table tennis as a schoolboy when his family moved to Brentham in Ealing, his skills flourishing as he practised in local sports clubs. After playing for England in the home internationals against Scotland, Wales and Ireland at the age of just 19, he went abroad for the first time when he travelled to Stockholm for the world championships as a member of the Great Britain team. The following year, 1929, saw the young Perry at the world championships in Budapest, where he won the singles title, beating the Hungarian holder by three sets to one, and becoming the first non-Hungarian to hold the title. Although the 20 year old World Champion promptly retired in order to pursue lawn tennis, "his famous forehand was derived directly from table tennis, where a wristy flick takes the ball on the rise. Only Fred could do it on a lawn tennis court off the wrong foot and with perfect timing" (Max Robertson, Wimbledon, 1987, p. 93).