The U.S. Open tennis tournament always seems to come with its share of drama. Usually, it's something like a clash between two players or a heated moment between a player and the umpire — like when Serena Williams had that famous argument with the umpire in 2018, or when Daniil Medvedev got into it with the crowd a few years ago. Last week American player Taylor Townsend and Czech player Barbora Krejcikova got into an argument on court after their match.
Two days ago, something different happened — this time, between two spectators.
Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak had just won his match and was hanging out with fans, signing autographs and on tennis balls. He noticed a young kid in the crowd and, in a sweet gesture, took off his cap and handed it to the child.
That’s when things took a turn. A man standing nearby suddenly grabbed the cap from the kid’s hands and just walked off with it.
Turns out, the man is Piotr Szczerek — a millionaire and CEO of a company in Poland. When reporters asked him about it later, he didn’t apologize at all. Instead, he arrogantly said, “Yeah, I took it. I did it in a rush. But hey, first come, first served — that’s life.”
At the time, Majchrzak didn’t see what had happened because he was still signing autographs. But when he found out later, he got in touch with the boy and his mother and gave them not just another cap, but also his shirt and a bunch of other gifts.
Social media, as always, didn’t hold back. People were furious. Many called the CEO a jerk and a coward. One person summed it up by posting, “Only a complete idiot and jerk would snatch a hat from a child.”
PS: Latest news. September 1 6.58 pm California time. That Polish CEO apologized to that kid, the fans, and the Polish player.
