when did maria sharapova start playing tennis?
2004 Wimbledon Championships
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 In 1969 , at 9 years of age , Balukas competed in her first Billiard Congress of America U.S. Open straight pool championship , taking 5th place among a field of adults . In the next two U.S. Opens , in 1970 and 1971 , she placed 4th and 3rd , respectively . By that time she was already fairly well known , having had additional television appearances alongside such billiard stars and celebrities as Willie Mosconi , Sammy Davis Jr . , Peter Falk , Hugh Downs and Sonny Fox . She would later appear on television many more times , in addition to broadcasts of pool matches , including an interview on The Mike Douglas Show airing on January 11 , 1977 with Bernadette Peters and David Niven . 

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 Balukas won the U.S. Open seven years in a row from 1972 through 1978 , accumulating six world championship titles , had well over 100 professional competition first @-@ place finishes with 38 majors to her name , had a streak of 16 first @-@ place finishes in women 's professional tournaments , and was the only woman to compete on equal footing with men in professional play in her era . She quit the sport amidst controversy in 1988 while at the height of her ability , due to a dispute over her conduct in a match at the World Open Nine @-@ ball Championship of that year . 

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 Before the Interzonal , in March and April 1970 , the world 's best players competed in the USSR vs. Rest of the World match in Belgrade , Yugoslavia , often referred to as " the Match of the Century " . There was much surprise when Fischer decided to participate : 

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 In August 1987 , at the annual B.C. Open hosted at a Holiday Inn in Binghamton , New York , Balukas was slated for competition in both divisions . After arriving , she discovered that for evening @-@ scheduled matches she would be required to wear formal attire that she did not have with her . The men 's division , by contrast , had no similar dress code . Balukas took a stand that the women should not be treated differently from the men , and accordingly refused to procure garments that would meet the unequal mandate . 

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 In 1961 , Fischer started a 16 @-@ game match with Reshevsky , split between New York and Los Angeles . Reshevsky , 32 years Fischer 's senior , was considered the favorite , since he had far more match experience and had never lost a set match . After 11 games and a tie score ( two wins apiece with seven draws ) , the match ended prematurely due to a scheduling dispute between Fischer and match organizer and sponsor Jacqueline Piatigorsky . Reshevsky was declared the winner , by default , and received the winner 's share of the prize fund . 
