Q. What words describe a ball losing air?
A. Commonly, we would say ‘to go flat’.
The ball went flat over the winter. Where’s the pump?
It wouldn’t be technically incorrect to use ‘deflate’ for a ball, but not that natural. We’d more likely say ‘deflate’ for smaller losses of air, or in a more technical setting. For example
My air mattress does deflate a little overnight, but not enough to be uncomfortable.
Note that ‘loses air’ and ‘has a leak’ are perfectly natural and native things to say too.
‘This ball loses air. Throw it out and buy a new one.’
‘I think this inner tube has a leak. See if you can patch it.’