Australians have reacted angrily to news that tennis player Novak Djokovic will play in the Australian Open, after being exempted from vaccination rules.

All players and staff at the tournament must be vaccinated or have an exemption granted by an expert independent panel.

Djokovic has not spoken about his vaccination status, but last year said he was “opposed to vaccination”.

Organizers say he has not been given special treatment. But Australians have criticized officials and the player.

The controversy comes as the country is seeing tens of thousands of Covid-19 cases for the first time after enduring some of the world’s strictest restrictions.

Over 90% of Australia’s over-16 population is fully vaccinated, but some Australians still cannot travel interstate or globally because of current restrictions.

Amid the row, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Djokovic would be required to present evidence upon arrival that he has a genuine medical exemption from vaccination, or he would be “on the next plane home”.

“If that evidence is insufficient, then he won’t be treated any different to anyone else and he’ll be on the next plane home,” the prime minister told reporters. “There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever.”

Many Australians had previously accused the government of allowing the rich and famous to do as they please while ordinary people remained separated from sick and dying loved ones.

“I think it’s a disgrace,” Christine Wharton, who lives in Melbourne, where the Australian Open will be held, told ABC.

“We’ve all done the right thing, we’ve all gone out and got our jabs and our boosters and we have someone that has come from overseas and all of a sudden he’s been exempt and can play and I think it’s an absolute disgrace and I won’t be watching it.”

A&E doctor Stephen Parnis tweeted: “I don’t care how good a tennis player he is. If he’s refusing to get vaccinated, he shouldn’t be allowed in. “If this exemption is true, it sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce #COVID19Aus risk to themselves & others.”

The decision raised eyebrows with some other tennis players too. “I just think it’s very interesting. That’s all I’m going to say,” Australian Alex de Minaur said.

Britain’s Jamie Murray added: “I think if it was me that wasn’t vaccinated I wouldn’t be getting an exemption. You know, but well done to him for getting clear to come to Australia and compete.”

The Australian Open begins on 17 January, and the event’s chief executive Craig Tiley said 26 athletes had applied for medical exemptions. “A handful” had been granted, he said, under guidelines set by federal regulators.

“We made it extra difficult for anyone applying for an application to ensure it was the right process and to make sure the medical experts deal with it independently,” he told Channel 9.

Applications for medical exemptions are being assessed anonymously by two separate panels, with inflammatory cardiac illness or another acute condition listed as valid reasons.

But it is also possible Djokovic has recently tested positive for the virus, which would allow him to defer taking the vaccine.

He has not revealed his vaccination status and said last April: “Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.”

On Tuesday he said on Instagram: “I’ve spent fantastic quality time with my loved ones over the break and today I’m heading down under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022. I am ready to live and breathe tennis in the next few weeks of competition.”

Victoria state government minister Jaala Pulford acknowledged the decision was “frustrating and upsetting”, but also denied that Djokovic had received special treatment. Both she and Mr Tiley urged Djokovic to give more information to the public.

“It’ll certainly be helpful if Novak was to explain the conditions in which he’s sought an exemption and granted an exemption but ultimately it’s up to him,” Mr Tiley said.