Particular embodiments described herein provide for a pickleball comprising a polymer outer shell, where at least a portion of the polymer outer shell is crosslinked. The pickleball with crosslinked material can be created by receiving manufactured non-crosslinked polymer pickleballs in consumer packaging in a bulk shipping container, removing the manufactured polymer pickleballs from the bulk shipping container, and passing the manufactured polymer pickleballs in the consumer packaging through an electronic beam to crosslink at least a portion of the polymer that comprises the pickleball to create the crosslinked polymer pickleballs.

This disclosure provides pickleball balls configured with multi-layered (e.g., multi-shelled) shell and/or shells with non-uniform material distributions. An example pickleball ball comprises an outer shell having a first set of apertures, and an inner shell having a second set of apertures, with at least one aperture of the first set of apertures overlapping an aperture of the second set of apertures, and/or with the outer shell and the inner shell being made of different materials. Another example pickleball ball has a shell with a non-uniform distribution of weight and/or in which at least one of the apertures has an entry and an exit that have different lateral alignment, size, and/or shape.

The present invention relates to sports balls. A sports ball comprises a surface layer comprising a plurality of panels. The sports ball further comprises a lattice structure extending below the surface layer, wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of lattice cells comprising radially extending elements. The lattice cells which are adjacent to the surface layer have at least one dimension which is smaller than an average diameter of the panels.

A pickleball ball is provided for increasing durability, improving performance, and/or reducing the loudness and/or frequency of sound generated when said ball strikes a paddle. The ball being a hollow ball comprised of a spherical shell defining a hollow cavity. The ball is made of a graphene-infused polymer material and the shell defines a plurality of holes distributed around the surface of the ball.

A ball may include a spherical shell, and apertures defined in the spherical shell. The apertures may be formed in the spherical shell based at least in part on a N-frequency tessellation of the spherical shell. A method of forming a ball may include molding a first hemisphere, molding a second hemisphere, and coupling the first hemisphere to the second hemisphere to form a spherical shell. The spherical shell may include apertures defined in the spherical shell based at least in part on a N-frequency tessellation of the spherical shell.

A pickleball ball comprising a hollow sphere with a plurality of holes arranged on the hollow sphere and an attached or integrated wear-and-tear indicator is described. In some examples, the wear-and-tear indicator may comprise a multi-layered painted indicator on the outer surface of the hollow core. The multi-layered painted indicator may be applied throughout the outer surface. The multi-layered painted indicator may comprise two or more layers of different materials with different durability characteristics. The different materials may each have a different color and/or texture.

Biodegradable sports balls, are described. A biodegradable sports ball includes a petroleum based material, a biological based filler material blended with the petroleum based material, and a biodegradable additive blended with the petroleum based material and the biological based filler material. The biodegradable sports ball is biodegradable based on blending of the biodegradable additive with the petroleum based material. The biodegradable sports ball may be a tennis ball, a racquet ball, a ping pong ball, a pickleball, a wiffle ball, a foam ball, a soccer ball, a football, a rugby ball, a baseball, a softball, a volley ball, a basketball, a playground ball, or a golf ball. The biological based filler material may include calcium carbonate and may provide increased strength and/or durability to the biodegradable sports ball.

Through the use of an internal support system integrated with the interior shell of a hollow ball, the concentration of impact stress to the ball's shell during game play is reduced through better dispersion and resistance of applied force, while also reinforcing the ball's shell at its weakest points, which are the holes, thus making it more resilient and thereby less susceptible to breakage. Enhanced fortification against impact stress applied during gameplay serves to increase the usable life of the ball.

A pickleball ball is provided for increasing durability, improving performance, and/or reducing the loudness and/or frequency of sound generated when said ball strikes a paddle. The ball being a hollow ball comprised of a spherical shell defining a hollow cavity. The ball is made of a graphene-infused polymer material and the shell defines a plurality of holes distributed around the surface of the ball.