Table tennis balls are small, white, hollow and very light to grant fastness and intensity in the game.

These balls are made of high-bouncing celluloid and is filled with gas/oxygen. It weighs between 2.4 and 2.7 g. and has a compulsory diameter of 40 mm.

However, the first table tennis balls that were made in the late 1880's were made of various kinds of materials such as cork and balls of string.

Initially, the game was played as an indoor amusement among aristocratic british families.