The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) apologized on Saturday after Nazi-era version of Germany’s national anthem was accidentally sung at a replay match at the 2017 Fed Cup in Hawaii.
Before the start of the replay match between Germany’s Andrea Petkovic and Alison Riske of the U.S., a male soloist unwittingly performed verses of Deutschlandlied— which was dropped after World War II due to its association with Adolf Hitler, Reuters reports.
The version that was sung included the first stanza “Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles, uber alles in der Welt,” which translates to “Germany, Germany, above all, above all in the world.” That phrase is commonly associated with Nazi propaganda.
Petkovic said that she had considered walking off court after hearing the song. “I thought it was the epitome of ignorance, and I’ve never felt more disrespected in my whole life, let alone in Fed Cup,” she said, Reuters reports.
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