Piotr Szczerek, Polish CEO who snatched boy’s cap at US Open issues grovelling apology, insists he never threatened to file lawsuit or uses services of lawyer as social media continues to condemn multimillionaire and his wife, Anna.
A multimillionaire CEO captured on viral video ‘snatching’ a player’s hat meant for a young tennis fan at the U.S open last week has ‘belatedly’ issued an apology after being widely rebuked on social media.
Internet sleuths unmasked the CEO as Piotr Szczerek, who runs Polish paving company Drogbruk after viral video showed him stealing the memento intended for a child, known as Brock, by Polish tennis star Kamil Majchrzak.
NEW: Tennis star Kamil Majchrzak is looking for a young boy who had a hat snatched from him by a grown man at the US Open.
Majchrzak was seen trying to hand the boy his hat when a grown man took it and stashed it in a bag.
“After the match, I didn’t record that my cap didn’t… pic.twitter.com/JE5vGxjNxg
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 29, 2025
Drogbruk Polish CEO issues ‘belated’ apology
Viral video showed the businessman snatching the hat out of the boy’s hands (is this some kind of metaphor for world hyper capitalism….?) and then passing the item into his wife’s bag as the young fan watched on in disbelief and piqued.
In a ‘belated’ apology, posted on his company’s Instagram account, Szczerek told followers that he had made ‘a huge mistake’ along with revealing that he had since given the hat back to the young fan.
Szczerek, who has turned off comments on the post ‘out of concern for my family’, (do you suppose….?) wrote: ‘Due to the situation that occurred during Kamil Majchrzak’s match at the US Open, I would like to unequivocally apologize to the injured boy, his family, all the fans, and the player himself.
‘I made a grave mistake. In the midst of emotion, amidst the crowd’s celebration after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis player was passing the cap to me – for my sons, who had previously asked for autographs. This mistaken belief caused me to instinctively reach out.
‘Today I know that I did something that looked like I deliberately took a souvenir from a child. It wasn’t my intention, but that doesn’t change the fact that I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans.
‘The cap was given to the boy, and an apology is due to the family. I hope that I have at least partially repaired the harm.’
‘I also want to make it clear: neither I, my wife, nor my sons commented on this situation on social media or on any website,’ he continued. ‘We did not use the services of any law firm in this regard. All alleged statements appearing online are not ours.
‘For years, my wife and I have been involved in helping children and young athletes, but this situation has shown me that one moment of inattention can undo years of work and support. This is a painful but necessary lesson in humility for me.
‘Therefore, I will be even more actively involved in initiatives supporting children and young people and in actions against violence and hate. I believe that only through actions can I rebuild lost trust.’
Polish CEO widely condemned on social media after stealing hat meant for young tennis fan
The contentious episode developed moments after Polish player Majchrzak went to the crowd after the biggest win of his career.
The 29-year-old defeated ninth seed Karen Khachanov in a marathon five-set thriller on Thursday – and then was filmed removing his cap and trying to hand it to the excited schoolboy in the crowd on Court 11.
But in a clip that sparked widespread outrage online, Szczerek was standing next to the awestruck boy and reached out, grabbed the autographed hat and stuffed it into his bag.
The astonished boy is seen saying, ‘What are you doing?’, as Majchrzak walked away, unaware of what had just happened.
Majchrzak has since confirmed to the New York Post that Szczerek is the man in the video, and revealed he sponsors his tennis federation in Poland, adding there was ‘obviously some kind of confusion’ over the incident.
Polish executive and wife sponsoring rising stars
Online commentators named Szczerek – who heads up paving firm Drogbruk – as the person dubbed the ‘most hated man on the internet’ and condemned the executive’s behavior.
‘Only an ordinary idiot and a jerk could snatch a hat from a child’s hands,’ one person wrote about alleged cap-snatcher Szczerek online.
Added another: ‘I hope everyone stops doing business with this thieving monster! If he will publicly steal from a child. Think of how much he will steal from you and your customers!’
Stated another: ‘That is called stealing property that doesn’t belong to you, and that is no man, a coward, a bully, and a cheat taking from a child?? New low.’
Szczerek is an amateur competitive tennis player who was introduced to the sport by his wife Anna, according to Polish news outlet Tenis Magazyn.
The married couple are understood to have a private tennis court at their home in Kalisz, Poland.
His company – which was founded in 1999 and has its HQ Błaszki about 155 miles west of Warsaw – reportedly sponsors a number of local sports programmes as well as rising young tennis players.
It is understood he had sponsored Poland’s tennis federation.
