Test player is beginning to enjoy acclaim (7)
I believe the answer is:
lionise
'acclaim' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are verbs in their base form.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'test player is beginning to enjoy' is the wordplay.
'test player' becomes 'lion' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'beginning to' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'enjoy' is 'e'.
'lion'+'is'+'e'='LIONISE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lionise that I've seen before include "Treat as very important." , "Make fuss of (celebrity)" , "Glorify; treat as a hero" , "Treat as a celebrity - elision (anag)" , "Hero-worship" .)