Modern ping pong balls are made of a plastic polymer called ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), though for over a century they were made of celluloid, a semi-synthetic material derived from plant cellulose and camphor. The International Table Tennis Federation officially began phasing out celluloid in 2014, and by the end of 2019, nearly one hundred non-celluloid ball varieties were approved for competition play.
Celluloid: The Original Material
Celluloid dominated ping pong ball manufacturing from the sport’s early days through 2014. It’s one of the oldest thermoplastics ever produced, made by treating cellulose (plant fiber) with nitric acid and mixing it with camphor, which acts as a plasticizer. The result is a lightweight, smooth material that can be molded into thin, uniform shells. Celluloid gave ping pong balls their characteristic crisp sound, consistent bounce, and the ability to grip against rubber paddles to produce spin.
The problem with celluloid is that it’s extremely flammable. Safety data sheets for celluloid balls note they ignite easily and decompose at around 180°C (356°F), releasing carbon monoxide and phenol when burned. This flammability created real logistical headaches. Airlines and shipping authorities questioned whether celluloid balls should be regulated as hazardous materials during transport, and the cost of celluloid manufacturing was climbing. Those combined pressures pushed the sport toward a new material.
ABS Plastic: The Modern Standard
ABS replaced celluloid as the go-to material for competition balls. It’s a copolymer, meaning it blends three chemical building blocks: acrylonitrile (which provides rigidity and heat resistance), butadiene (which adds toughness and impact resistance), and styrene (which gives the surface a smooth, glossy finish). By adjusting the ratio of those three components, manufacturers can fine-tune the ball’s hardness, elasticity, and durability for different purposes.
ABS balls are sometimes called “poly” or “plastic” balls in table tennis circles. The ITTF defines plastic balls simply as “balls which do not contain celluloid,” and while ABS is the most common material, it’s not the only one on the market. Some manufacturers use other polymer blends, and balls are produced in China, Japan, Korea, and Germany in both white and orange.
How Ping Pong Balls Are Made
There are two main construction methods, and the difference matters for how the ball performs.
Seamed balls are the traditional design. Manufacturers create two half-shells by injecting or stamping flat plastic sheets into hemisphere molds. These two halves are then bonded together under heat and pressure, and the visible seam is polished smooth. Most competition balls use this method.
Seamless balls skip the two-piece approach entirely. A hollow, thin-walled shell is injection-molded in a single step using a ball-shaped mold. Because there’s no seam joint, seamless balls tend to have more uniform wall thickness throughout, which produces a more stable bounce height and a more predictable flight path off the paddle.
How ABS Balls Play Differently
The switch from celluloid to plastic wasn’t just cosmetic. Players at every level noticed the difference, and laboratory testing confirms it. Plastic balls are slightly larger, measuring about 40.4 mm in diameter compared to 39.8 mm for celluloid, while weighing nearly the same (roughly 2.75 grams each). That small size increase has a measurable effect on aerodynamics.
Plastic balls bounce about 1.1 cm lower than celluloid balls after hitting the table. They also lose more speed and spin during flight: in mechanical testing, plastic balls shed about 4% of their speed and 1.2% of their spin before reaching the table, compared to slightly less for celluloid. After bouncing, plastic balls carry less spin overall. In human testing, players produced about 3.4% less spin when returning plastic balls compared to celluloid ones.
The practical result is a game that’s slightly slower and produces less extreme spin, which was partly intentional. Longer rallies make the sport more watchable. On the flip side, ABS balls are harder and more durable than celluloid, so they crack less often during play and hold up better over repeated use. The increased roundness of second-generation ABS balls, which arrived around 2016, resolved early complaints about inconsistency and helped the new material gain wide acceptance among players and manufacturers alike.
Recreational vs. Competition Balls
Not all ping pong balls are created equal. The ones you’d buy in a multipack for a backyard game are typically made from cheaper, thinner plastic with less precise molding. They dent easily, bounce inconsistently, and weigh less than regulation balls. Competition-grade balls carry a star rating from one to three, with three-star balls meeting the tightest tolerances for roundness, weight, bounce, and hardness. These are the ones used in ITTF-sanctioned tournaments and are almost exclusively ABS or a comparable polymer now.
If you’re shopping for balls, the material matters less than the star rating for casual play. But if you’re training seriously or playing in leagues, three-star ABS balls from an ITTF-approved manufacturer will give you the most consistent experience and match what you’d encounter in competition.