One of the biggest stories to come out of the US Open 2025 has been the infamous hat snatching incident involving a young fan and a millionaire CEO. Kamil Majchrzak earned a hard-fought upset win over ninth seed Karen Khachanov on Thursday, August 28, rallying from two sets down to score one of the biggest wins of his career.
Given the match wrapped up after a deciding set tie-break, a huge crowd had gathered by the time Majchrzak hit the winning shot. After witnessing one of the biggest upsets of the first week, everyone wanted a piece of the Pole. He was only happy to oblige and got busy signing autographs for the fans on his way out.
A lucky spectator, a boy named Brock, was about to receive a hat from Majchrzak. His elation soon turned to despair. A man who was standing right next to the young fan snatched the hat before he could grab it. He was later identified as Piotr Szczerek, the CEO of the paving company Drogburk.
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Szczerek quickly put the hat in his wife's bag, and seemed quite pleased with himself. The youngster was obviously quite hurt by this, asking the grown-up what he was doing and pleading with him to return the hat. Unfortunately, Majchrzak was distracted and the whole incident went unnoticed by it.
However, this entire episode was caught on camera and the clip soon went viral. Szczerek quickly became persona non grata and when Majchrzak caught wind of this, he asked the online community's help in finding the young fan. He was reunited with Brock, and the boy got his happy ending after being gifted another memento from the tennis pro.
In the meantime, Szczerek remained unfazed by his own actions. As people continued to vent their frustration about the entire ordeal online, he allegedly released a statement on Instagram downplaying the significance of the incident.
"The recent incident at the tennis match has caused a disproportionate online uproar. It’s all about the famous hat, of course. Yes, I took it. Yes, I did it quickly. But as I’ve always said, life is first come, first served," his statement read.
He also threatened legal action against those who abused him online.
"I understand that some people might not like it, but please, let’s not make a global scandal out of the hat. It’s just a hat. If you were faster, you would have it. Regarding online hate, I remind you that insulting a public figure is subject to legal liability. All offensive comments, slander, and insinuations will be analyzed for the possibility of taking the matter to court," he added.
Szczerek has since had a change of heart. He has seen the error of his ways and apologized for his conduct, taking to social media to ask for everyone's forgiveness.
Piotr Szczerek apologizes for his behavior at the US Open 2025
Piotr Szczerek released a statement on his Facebook page on Monday, September 1, seeking forgiveness for his transgression. He felt that Kamil Majchrzak was handing the cap to him as his sons had asked for the player's autograph.
"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," Szczerek said.
It was a genuine mistake on his part, though he's aware of how the incident was perceived. He has since given the hat to the boy, and is now asking for everyone's forgiveness.
"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," he added.
In another twist to the tale, Szczerek also added that neither he nor his representatives have made any prior posts regarding the matter, rendering the earlier post on Instagram moot. He billed any prior comments as false.
"I also want to state clearly: neither I nor my wife nor my sons commented on this situation on social media or on any other platform. We did not hire any law firm regarding this matter. All statements appearing online accredited to us were false and were not authored by us or our representatives," he added.
The incident has been trending for the past week, with Szczerek catching a lot of heat for his actions. Majchrzak, meanwhile, got brownie points for going the extra mile to cheer up the young fan. Unfortunately, his US Open journey concluded on a sad note, having to retire from his third-round contest due to an injury.
