the challenge-match endnote: the racquet tuned like a violin
He picked up two and tested the strings’ tension by hitting the side of one stick’s head against the the strung face of the other and listening to the strings and then switching sticks and repeating the process. The exact right tension has a certain pitch.
Context
The body's equipment tuned by ear. Pemulis checks his catgut by "hitting the side of one stick’s head against the the strung face of the other and listening" — "the exact right tension has a certain pitch," the racquet an instrument voiced like a violin before play. The craft-attention the regimen breeds runs all the way down into the gear: a stick isn't ready until it sounds right.