The viral clip of Piotr Szczerek snatching a cap meant for a child at the US Open has sparked international outrage – yet, while most attention has focused on the millionaire CEO, fans are wondering if his wife is complicit.
The businessman is being branded online as the “most hated man on the internet,” questions are also being raised about the role of his wife, Anna Szczerek as people wonder if she was a bystander or directly involved in the heist.
The controversy unfolded on August 28, shortly after Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak secured the biggest victory of his career following a five-set battle against ninth seed, Karen Khachanov.
Majchrzak moved toward the stands to hand his match-worn cap to a boy in the crowd, later identified only as Brock as footage showed the child reaching out before the cap was taken away by Piotr, who placed it directly into his wife’s bag.
Anna, who was holding the bag and filming the court, did not visibly react in the footage. The optics of the moment, however, quickly placed her alongside her husband in the storm of criticism that followed.
Intriguingly, Anna is now an unfamiliar figure in Poland‘s tennis community as according to reporting by Tenis Magazyn, she was the person who first introduced her husband to the sport.
That eventually led to his participation as an amateur competitor and the couple reportedly maintains a private tennis court at their home in Kalisz, where they once hosted Urszula Radwanska, a former professional player.
That context makes the US Open incident even more striking. While Piotr was filmed pulling the cap from the boy, it was Anna who received it into her bag-raising questions about whether she knowingly participated, or was simply unaware of what was happening.
Unlike her husband, Anna has not issued any public statement about the matter and she has not seen the same kind of backlash as Piotr did, with social media platforms flooded with condemnation.
Majchrzak himself attempted to downplay the incident, describing it as “some kind of confusion” and attributing it to the heightened emotions of the moment.
“I was pointing, giving the hat,” Majchrzak said via the New York Post. “But I had a lot going on after my match, after being super tired and super excited for the win. I just missed it.”
The player later tracked down the boy and confirmed via Instagram that the issue had been resolved, praising the “power of the internet.”
When is the 2025 US Open men’s singles final?
The men’s singles final at the 2025 US Open is scheduled for Sunday, September 7, and will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will look to set up a rematch of their thrilling Wimbledon final as the new generation takes over, whilst Novak Djokovic will look to have one last dance before a potential retirement.
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