Editing Table tennis (section)

=== Ball ===
[[File:TT Plastic ball 40+ ITTF V1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Table Tennis Plastic Balls 40+ mm with ITTF approval]]
The international rules specify that the game is played with a sphere having a mass of {{convert|2.7|g}} and a diameter of {{convert|40|mm|2}}.<ref name="ITTF">{{cite web |url=http://www.ittf.com/stories/pictures/T3_40mmBall.pdf |title=ITTF Technical Leaflet T3: The Ball |date=December 2009 |publisher=ITTF |pages=4 |access-date=28 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304120600/http://www.ittf.com/stories/pictures/T3_40mmBall.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2011}}</ref> The rules say that the ball shall bounce up {{convert|24|–|26|cm|abbr=on}} when dropped from a height of {{convert|30.5|cm|abbr=on}} onto a standard steel block thereby having a [[coefficient of restitution]] of 0.89 to 0.92. As of 2015, balls are now made of a polymer instead of [[celluloid]], colored white or orange, with a [[wikt:matte|matte]] finish. The choice of ball color is made according to the table color and its surroundings. For example, a white ball is easier to see on a green or blue table than it is on a grey table. Manufacturers often indicate the quality of the ball with a star rating system, usually from one to three, three being the highest grade. As this system is not standard across manufacturers, the only way a ball may be used in official competition is upon ITTF approval<ref name="ITTF"/> (the ITTF approval can be seen printed on the ball).

The 40&nbsp;mm ball was introduced after the end of the [[Table tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Summer Olympics]]; previously a 38&nbsp;mm ball was standard.<ref name=USATTBall/> This created some controversies. [[Vladimir Samsonov]], the World No. 1 table tennis professional at the time, threatened to pull out of the World Cup, which was scheduled to debut the new regulation ball on 12 October 2000.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/tennis/654102.stm|title=Table tennis gets bigger ball |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref>