Plastic vs Celluloid Balls

Ivan Markanjevic Asked 8 years ago

Hi pingskills

What is the difference of plastic and celluloid balls ?
The equipment with plastic and celluloid balls are same ?

Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago

Hi Ivan,

They are different in so far as the material they are manufactured from.

All international tournaments now use the Plastic balls and it looks like they will be phased in completely for Table Tennis.

There is a slight difference in bounce but not greatly noticeable to the average player.

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Thoughts on this question

Arjan van Luttikhuizen Posted 8 years ago

And don't be swayed by the sales tactic of equipment that is "specially made for the plastic ball" while it's nice to have something a little more grippy as the plastic ball tends to spin slightly less, the older grippy rubbers do the job just fine.

Timo Salmi Posted 8 years ago

Hi guys, so it is not bad if you have trainings with celluloid balls? I mean competitions are with plastic balls.

Best regards Timo

Jean Balthazar Posted 8 years ago

Timo,

Play with a partner of your level for an hour with a celluloid ball, then switch to a plastic ball and see what happens. If you don't notice a difference, you're fine training with whatever ball is available. If you can adjust quickly, then it's not so important. If you need longer and have to make significant changes to some of your strokes or to your tactics, then you should train with plastic balls.

D K Posted 8 years ago

I feel quite considerable difference between the balls.
The plastic ball has completely ruined my style.
It feels like I have a wet soft sponge on my bat.