###### Abstract
This study had some extremely advanced laboratory settings and, therefore, technological requirements such as the auto pan-tilt technology to shoot high-resolution images of a ball with a high sampling rate, which made it possible to calculate the spin of a ball. [PERSON] et al. (1992) analyzed factors such as 'use of space' regarding the table position to create a heatmap for analysis [28]. In this context, a heatmap represented a two-dimensional diagram for visualizing positional data based on a probability function. The authors divided players into three categories based on handedness, playing strategy and racket holding. They manually annotated the x-y coordinates of players for each frame of the videos. Because this approach needed a considerable amount of time, only four professional table tennis players could be analyzed. Among the many observations, one which was notable was that the defending players put more distance between themselves and the table in comparison to offensive players (in the form of heatmaps calculated by the x-y position). In addition, defending players tended to stand more on their own backhand side to be able to play more with their forehand side. This first approach to capture the position of players in the box during a real table tennis match in the form of heatmaps has so far not been pursued further. The study by [PERSON] et al. (1992) is limited by the small sample size of only four players and an outdated rule system (e.g., the set length of up to 21 points back then, which has been changed to up to 11 points now) which makes its application to analyses in today's competitions difficult [28]. In summary, there are plenty of technical problems owing to the high speed of the moving objects during the game (e.g., the ball, the rackets, the players), the occlusion (in particular, during a serve) and the small size of the ball [18]. The study by [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2011) explored the idea that in table tennis, the ball position is highly connected to the position of the players [18]. The automatic recording of table tennis players' position in relation to the table could be much easier than tracking the ball; so, we expect precise data when we can extract them from existing video sequences of players. Sports scientists have pointed out the disadvantages of analyzing individual strokes (e.g., placements, spin variations, durations, tempos, etc.) without referencing the actions of the opponent [29]. It is important to compare players' positions in relation to each other, because a second substantive issue in match analyses--intrinsic to all sports--is the interaction between the opponents. Moreover, every single game (or set) differs from the others, even with the same players playing against each other [30]. In the present study, the same categories (handedness, playing system and racket holding) as in the study by [PERSON] et al. (1992) were used as fixed factors to evaluate the following hypotheses [28]:It is assumed that the x positions of the left-handers and the right-handers differ, in a way that the left-handers stay more on the right side of the table and the right-handers stay more on the left side. Players are assumed to prefer this positioning, so that they can stand more on their own backhand side and play more with their forehand. 2. Defending players travel more distance in the y direction than offensive players and are also positioned farther back (in the y direction) in the mean. This greater mileage should be reflected in the space/area and, where appropriate, in the x direction. 3. For the racket holding (penholder vs. shakehand), the predictions are open-ended [31]. In general, for the shakehand grip, the index finger is placed on the lower part of the backhand grip and the thumb is rested on the lower part of the forehand grip of the racket. The other three fingers enclose the wood grip. For the penholder grip, both the thumb and index finger are normally placed on the forehand rubber, while the other three fingers rest on the backhand rubber.