A ball was an object that people could throw to catch, hit objects with or play games with. While typically they were spherical in shape and relatively small in size, the Toymaker claimed stones and human skulls could function as balls as well. (TV: The Giggle [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).)
John Smith used a ball to hit scaffolding to save a woman and her baby's life while out for a walk with Joan Redfern in 1913. (TV: Human Nature [+]Paul Cornell, adapted from Human Nature (Paul Cornell), Doctor Who series 3 (BBC One, 2007).)
The Tenth Doctor used a racquet to hit a ball, bouncing it off of the wall to strike the Sontaran commander Staal's neck to knock him down. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem [+]Helen Raynor, Doctor Who series 4 (BBC One, 2008).)
The Toymaker used three balls to juggle in front of the Fourteenth Doctor while giving his speech about the origins of the first human game with a ball: catch. He, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors then used a single ball to play catch with, a game which the Toymaker lost. (TV: The Giggle [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).)