displacement of the plunger is normally limited or checked by the engagement of the indicator pointer 44 against the stop 49 the spring 60 imposes a substantially constant bias force on the plunger 50 for a tensiometer which would be constructed to measure tension in the range to 30 to 80 pounds a suitable coil spring would have a spring force of approximately 24 pounds in the disclosed embodiment the tension of the racket string 12 is measured by manually forcing the indicator arm downwardly so that that the plunger is forced upwardly against the bias of the spring 60 to a retracted position the tensiometer is then positioned on the racquet string wherein longitudinally spaced portions of the string are received in the notches 34 and 36 of the support legs the indicator arm 40 is then released the substantially constant bias force of the coil spring 60 forces the plunger wedge 54 into engagement with the string at a medial point between the notches 34 and 36 to deflect the string downwardly in a direction which is generally normal to the plane p of the racquet face the displacement of the plunger is proportional to the tension in the racquet string the degree of rotation of the indicator arm about its pivot pin 42 will therefore be proportional to the tension in the string 12 by proper calibration of scale 46 accordingly the angular alignment of the indicator needle 44 with the indicia of scale 46 will indicate the tension in the string in a preferred embodiment a numerical indicia scale is printed on an adhesive tape and installed.