With the help of the crowd, tearful mother and daughter were reunited

The mother caused such a commotion that the player stopped the game

from her mother at a stadium in Majorca

Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal stopped a match when a distraught mother interrupted the game because she had lost her young daughter in the crowd.

Nadal was about to serve during a doubles exhibition match with his Spanish teammate Simon Solbas.

They were playing two former world number ones - the Spaniard Carlos Moya, 40 and American legend John McEnroe, 57 in Manacor, Mallorca.

But Nadal - himself a world number one - stopped the game in front of the 7,000 strong crowd when he heard the commotion, and realised a child had gone missing.

TV footage showed the upset mother of the child standing next to a steward and shouting 'Clara'.

Nadal, 30, and his teammates stopped playing, and when the crowd realised there was a problem, they started looking for the child.

The woman started making a noise, interrupting the match, when her child wandered away

Nadal (left), halted the match that he and Solbas were playing against Moya and McEnroe

Meanwhile the mother called the girl's name and other members of the crowd started to help

The tearful girl was soon spotted a short distance away and bystanders alerted the emotional mother, who ran to pick her up and hug her tightly.

The small child was soon spotted just a short distance away, and comforted by those nearby

She burst into tears as her mother rushed towards her - while play remained halted

Following the emotional reunion, the tennis match finally got underway once again

The spectators applauded the emotional moment and appeared to rejoice at the happy ending before the stars promptly resumed the match.

The match, which was initially supposed to feature Swedish former World Number 1 Mats Wilander, 52, who had to withdraw due to an injury, ended in a victory for Nadal and Solbas.

However, some who watched the video criticized the mother.

One user identified as ‘Tommy’ said: "Why [was] this mum so careless in the first place, not to keep an eye on her daughter, especially in crowded places.