Table Tennis Balls: Practice Makes Perfect

Table tennis balls vary in quality and price according to the number of stars in the rating. The fewer number of stars in the rating, the lower the quality of the ping pong balls. The rating depends on seam quality, roundness, and bounce consistency. Why would you want to use a lower quality practice table tennis ball? Read the article to find out.

The first table tennis balls were small air-filled latex ping pong balls. Then in 1880, James Gibb invented the modern table tennis ball made of celluloid. The hollow celluloid ping pong balls provide a much more consistent bounce and control than air-filled latex. Even celluloid ping pong balls vary in quality and consistency, so a star rating system was developed.

Star Rating System
You can tell the ball's rating by the number of stars; one is the lowest quality while three is the highest quality. Three star ping pong balls are competition balls and are much more expensive than lower rated practice balls. Competition and practice balls are the same size, and weight, the difference is the quality. Color can vary, and is unimportant for practice table tennis balls. ITTF and USATT tournaments require competition balls to be white or two-toned orange and matt colored balls.

Competition balls have a true bounce, which means they bounce the same way each time. Competition balls are more consistent than practice balls because the shell is thinner. The thinner shell has a downside, it is more apt to crack and break. Since these table tennis balls are expensive compared to practice balls, some players use a one or two star ball for routine practice or recreational play.