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.