Iga Swiatek paused for a moment while distributing one of her towels after a comfortable US Open fourth-round win and pointed to a young fan in the front row as if to make sure the right person went home with the sweat-soaked souvenir.
The Polish second seed was taking no chances after a man had snatched away the cap of her compatriot Kamil Majchrzak from the hands of a young boy days last week.
A video of that incident went viral on social media and prompting a public apology.
The man has been identified as Piotr Szczerek, the chief executive of a Polish paving company.
"I would like to unequivocally apologise to the injured boy, his family, as well as all the fans and the player himself. I have made a huge mistake," Szczerek later wrote in a statement posted on social media.
The cap has been given to the boy.
"I try to be fair ... I pick a person randomly, or whoever shouts louder. I know it's not fair, but not everybody is going to be happy."
Alex de Minaur said he always made a conscious effort to accommodate young fans at tournaments, the Australian famously launching an online search for a super fan at the French Open last year before showering him with gifts.
"A lot of the times when I'm giving away shoes, rackets, towels, I always try to lock in and give it to the kids, because those are the real fans. They get super excited when you're able to give them something," eighth seed De Minaur said.
"... It might be a special fan that I've engaged throughout the whole tournament or the whole match. Like I did with Paul at Roland Garros. You lock in with a certain person."
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime said he knew all about being a young fan in the crowd hunting for a collectible, although he decided to avoid the mad scramble at events after a painful experience in Montreal years ago.
"As a kid, I was probably 13, and I was with friends. I went to grab a wrist band. I got hit in the face, and my nose started bleeding. I was like 'my God, I'm bleeding for a wrist band," 25th seed Auger-Aliassime added.
"That's crazy! After that I would just stay back and let the others fight for the sweaty stuff."
While most memorabilia end up in the homes of fans, some items surface online for sale at exorbitant prices, as French Open organisers found out in May after distributing 10,000 T-shirts for Rafa Nadal's tribute ceremony this year.
Swiatek said it was not strange that people wanted sweaty caps, wristbands and towels of players.
"I would have loved to have a sweaty towel of Nadal's when I was a kid," said Swiatek, a big fan of the now-retired Spaniard.
"Sometimes it's strange when I try to give something to the kid and an adult grabs it ... come on, that's not the point."
