Djokovic consistently declined to reveal his vaccination status, as such it was believed he would be unlikely to play in the tournament.
However, the decision to allow Djokovic to compete led to a wave of fury from Aussies — particularly those from Melbourne and Sydney who have endured months of restrictions and lockdowns over the past two years.
Amongst comments on social media from angry Aussies, several notable tennis players, medical doctors and journalists weighed in with their thoughts.
Tennis journalist, Ben Rothenberg, posted the Australian government's guidelines on who could be allowed an exemption, to Twitter. He stated:
"What 'acute major medical condition', as listed here by Australian authorities, could a healthy No.1-ranked athlete have?
"There are also non-medical exemptions which can be applied for to enter Australia; Djokovic did not say his exemption was medical. However, it’s difficult to imagine a tennis player, even a good one, could be deemed 'in the national interest' or possessing 'critical skills.'"
Additionally, a prominent Victorian emergency department doctor, Dr Stephen Parnis, said the exemption sent an appalling message to people trying to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"I don't care how good a tennis player he is. If he's refusing to get vaccinated, he shouldn't be allowed in," Parnis wrote.
Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley said on 3AW there were 26 anonymous applications made by players or their support staff for an exemption with only a "handful" granted.
"Most haven't, 75 to 80 per cent of those that apply for a medical exemption, it was not granted," Tiley said on Wednesday morning.