A woman has collapsed in the stands during the Australian Open, leaving players Ana Ivanovic and Anastasija Sevastova visibly distressed.

Paramedics were called and play was halted due to the incident, which occurred inside Rod Laver Arena on Thursday afternoon.

The Daily Mail reported the woman fell down the stairs in the aisles of Rod Laver Arena, before members of the public called for help.

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The site reported a member of the crowd – who was a doctor – attended to the woman before paramedics arrived.

Play was suspended for 30 minutes, with both Ivanovic and Sevastova clearly upset when officials alerted them to the woman’s situation.

After returning to their locker rooms for a short period, play was called again and the women began a three-minute warm up to get back into the swing of things.

Ivanovic went on to win the match 6-3 6-3 and will play either Madison Keys or Yaroslava Shvedova in the next round.

It was the second time this week a viewer has collapsed in the stands at the grand slam, with one woman requiring an emergency EpiPen to be thrown from the stands above her in a dramatic incident on Tuesday.