Abstract: .Iadd.The invention is directed to a tennis ball which includes a spherical shaped inner-member made of rubber or similar material and filled with compressed air to give it the desired shape and resiliency. An outer cover made of two pieces of non-woven non-napped, needle-punched fabric cut into the form of a figure eight is applied to the inner-member by an adhesive. The needle-punched fabric is formed by a sheet of fibrous material in which the fibers normally extend in a plane substantially parallel with the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet and in which a large number of the fibers extend substantially perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces of the material which is needle-punched therefrom. As a result, the fibers which extend perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces interlock with successive layers of the fibers to form a desirable cover layer. .Iaddend.