SYDNEY—Novak Djokovic’s application for a medical exemption from Australia’s vaccination rules hinged on his infection with, and recovery from, Covid-19 in December.

Documents filed on Saturday to Australia’s Federal Court showed Djokovic tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec. 16. The court will hear his appeal against the cancellation of his visa and deportation from Australia for violating a requirement that arrivals in the country be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The...

SYDNEY— Novak Djokovic’s application for a medical exemption from Australia’s vaccination rules hinged on his infection with, and recovery from, Covid-19 in December.

Documents filed on Saturday to Australia’s Federal Court showed Djokovic tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec. 16. The court will hear his appeal against the cancellation of his visa and deportation from Australia for violating a requirement that arrivals in the country be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The federal government this week said that in November it had advised Tennis Australia—organizer of the Australian Open, which Djokovic is aiming to win for a 10th time—that recovery from Covid-19 doesn’t constitute grounds for a medical exemption.

Djokovic had received an exemption from Tennis Australia and permission from Australia’s federal government to enter despite being unvaccinated, the documents said.

“Mr. Djokovic understood that he was entitled to enter Australia and Victoria [state] and to compete in the Australian Tennis Open,” the documents stated.

Djokovic landed in Australia on Wednesday night. Until a judge rules on his eligibility to stay in the country, he is being held in a suburban Melbourne hotel that houses asylum seekers and refugees. The Australian Open is due to begin on Jan. 17.

The documents also allege that officials pressured him to accept a decision on his visa cancellation without giving him the chance to properly consult his legal representatives.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com