Canadian prodigy Denis Shapovalov has taken the toughest stance yet on bushfire smoke at the Australian Open, telling reporters that he would rather pull out of the tournament than risk his health in polluted air.

The issue of poor air quality has dogged the tournament’s qualifying competition, which came to an end on Saturday. Slovakia’s Dalila Jakupovic earned global headlines on Tuesday when she was forced to retire from her match with breathing difficulties.

If anything similar were to happen in the main event – which starts on Sunday night, UK time – the backlash against Tennis Australia would be significant. This event is known for being player-friendly, a reputation it risks if it sends big names out to compete in a heavy smoke haze.

Asked how he would respond if he felt conditions were unsafe, Shapovalov’s response was stark. “I wouldn't play,” he said. “Obviously it's a grand slam, it's a big opportunity, but I'm 20 years old. I don't want to risk my life, risk my health, being out there playing out there in these conditions, when I can for the next 10, 15 years.

“For my own health, if it gets bad, I just don't see what the point is. I think everyone's kind of on the same page. I don't think I've seen anyone happy with the way things are being dealt with."

Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire during her qualifying match due to a coughing fit caused by the smoke

Tennis Australia belatedly produced an air-quality policy on Friday that said play would be suspended if the concentration of dangerous P2.5 particles exceeded 200 micrograms per cubic metre.

Another clause suggested that, when the score is between 97 and 200, “this will trigger a discussion between medical staff and officials about the advisability or otherwise of proceeding with match play.”

But Shapovalov – the 13th seed, who is due to open play on Margaret Court Arena at just after midnight (GMT) on Sunday night – sounded unconvinced about the scientific evidence underpinning this decision.

"They send some email and say they have professionals looking at it and they use the term 'playable,'" he said.

"For me it's just like, it's not great. You get warnings from the news telling people to stay inside, that it's not good to be outside, breathing this stuff in. And then you get an email from the tournament saying it's playable and you guys have to go out there and put your life in jeopardy, put your health in jeopardy.

"You see the effects on players it has right now, the last couple of days, but also you don't know what it's going to do later in our lives and how it could affect us if we're breathing this air in for two weeks."

Roger Federer has hit back at criticism that he hasn't done enough to defend the players in Australia credit: Rex

Last week, several lower-ranked players called for more support from the big names on this emotive issue. But the ATP tour’s senior pro, Roger Federer, defended himself on Saturday.

“So what can I do?” Federer said. “Can I go on court and say, ‘Everybody stop play?’ I can try. I don't think that's going to do much.

“I can go to the office, speak to them. I went to them the first day when it was bad on Tuesday, the next day on Wednesday when it was still bad. I told them, ‘Look, I just think communication is key for all of us, for everybody.’ We just need to do more because I feel like I hadn't gotten enough information.

“Some media are happy to hammer home with that subject because it's a new one. Maybe it [the publication of the air policy] was all a bit late. But I don't think I can do more than what I did ... Some guys are always going to complain.”

The smoke haze was back in Melbourne on Saturday after a couple of clear days that had followed Wednesday night’s huge thunderstorm. Local measurements suggested that the pollution score climbed towards 100, which is described as “moderate”, towards the end of the day.