Recognise duke, tournament player (4)

I believe the answer is:

seed

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'tournament player' is the definition.
'seed' can be an answer for 'player' (seed is a kind of player). I'm not certain of the 'tournament' bit.

'recognise duke' is the wordplay.
'recognise' becomes 'see' (both can mean to notice).
'duke' becomes 'd' (abbreviation).
'see'+'d'='SEED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for seed that I've seen before include "Germ; top player" , "Pip; tennis player" , "Drop" , "Propagative part of plant" , "one very much fancied" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.