U.S. Tennis Association Apologizes For Playing Nazi-Era German Anthem

Talk about a diplomatic double fault. The U.S. Tennis Association had to apologize after playing a Nazi-era version of the German anthem.

The embarrassing gaffe occurred at the the opening of the Fed Cup in Hawaii, before a first-round match between America’s Alison Riske and Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. A local opera singer sang the German anthem using an outdated verse widely synonymous with the Nazi era: “Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles, uber alles in der Welt.”

The verse, which translates to “Germany, Germany, above all, above all in the world,” was scrapped after World War II because of its affiliation with Adolf Hitler’s rule. Apparently no one warned the Fed Cup organizers.

You can watch the cringe-worthy moment here, with some stunned-looking German players and fans trying to recover for the remainder of the anthem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-EjbQJhlgE

The German team was furious. “I thought it was the epitome of ignorance, and I’ve never felt more disrespected in my whole life, let alone in Fed Cup,” Petkovic said. She said she even considered walking off the court before the match. A stunned German tennis coach Barbara Ritter called the error “an absolute scandal, a disrespectful incident, and inexcusable.”

The USTA issued a statement extending “its sincerest apologies” to the German team and fans. “In no way did we mean any disrespect. This mistake will not occur again,” the statement said.

It also tweeted an apology, reiterating it wouldn’t happen again. The German Tennis Federation’s reply hinted it may not be over the gaffe quite yet:

The German anthem now begins with the more palatable and way less historically-weighted “Unity and justice and freedom.”

After exchanging profuse apologies, the U.S. team beat Germany, and will now challenge the Czech Republic in the semifinals, with both a hard-won win and a hard-won diplomatic lesson under its belt.

Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images