Taylor Fritz (USA) signs autographs after his match against Tomas Machac (CZE) (not pictured) on day eight of the 2025 US Open tennis championships at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The CEO of a Polish paving company issued an apology after taking a signed hat that tennis player Kamil Majchrzak intended to give to a young boy at the US Open.

Piotr Szczerek, the CEO of Drogbruk, a Poland-based paving company, said in a Sept. 1 social media statement that he takes "full responsibility for my extremely poor judgment and hurtful actions."

In a video that sparked widespread backlash on social media, Szczerek is seen swiping the signed hat as Majchrzak hands it to a boy in the crowd. The incident took place as Majchrzak celebrated his second-round win against Karen Khachanov at the tournament on Aug. 28.

"I would like to unequivocally apologize to the young boy, his family, all the fans, and the player himself," Szczerek said, adding that he sent the hat back to the boy.

"I hope, at least to a small extent, I was able to repair the harm I caused," he said.

CEO says he took signed hat because he thought it was for his sons

In his statement, Szczerek said he thought the signed hat was intended for his sons, who had previously asked for autographs.

"It was never my intent to steal away a prized memento from the young fan," he said. "I became caught up in the heat of the moment and the joy of the victory."

Szczerek added, "Regardless of what I believed was happening, the actions I took hurt the young boy and disappointed the fans."

The statement also dispelled misinformation circulating online that Szczerek hired a law firm as a result of the incident.

"For years, my wife and I have been involved in supporting children and young athletes, but this incident has shown me that a moment of inattention can undo years of work and support. It is a painful but necessary lesson in humility," Szczerek said.

Drogbruk, Szczerek's company, also shared the statement on social media.

Kamil Majchrzak reunites with boy who didn't get signed hat

Two days after the hat snatching incident, Majchrzak shared on his Instagram that he met the boy who was originally intended to receive the signed hat.

"Today after warm up, I had a nice meeting," he wrote in a since-expired video on his Instagram story. "Do you recognize (hat emoji)?"

Majchrzak also shared a photo alongside the boy, Brock.

"Hello World, Together with Brock we wish you a great day!" the tennis player wrote.

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CEO apologizes for taking signed hat from boy at US Open: 'In the heat of the moment'

Reporting by Melina Khan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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