Heard a top player give up (4)
I believe the answer is:
cede
'give up' is the definition.
(I know that give up can be written as cede)
'heard a top player' is the wordplay.
'heard' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'a top player' becomes 'seed' (eg a seeded tennis player).
'seed' sounds like 'CEDE'.
(Other definitions for cede that I've seen before include "Give up one's rights" , "Deliver" , "21 across" , "Surrender, give up" , "Give away" .)