India, Sept. 1 -- Piotr Szczerek has issued an apology to the child at at the heart of the US Open hat-snatching scandal, stating that he had returned the cap to the young boy.

Szczerek, the CEO of the Polish paving company Drogbruk, was seen on camera grabbing a hat that was thrown to a youngster by Kamil Majchrzak, a Polish tennis player who had just upset Karen Khachanov of Russia in the competition's second round.

Szczerek became the target of a massive online outrage after the video garnered attention of netizens.

The billionaire said, "I made a serious mistake," in a statement that was initially posted in Polish on his social media page.

"In the emotions, in the crowd's joy after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis play...