Tournament rank (4)
I believe the answer is:
seed
'tournament rank' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for seed that I've seen before include "people decline to go to" , "one of the best players" , "High-ranked player in a knock-out tournament" , "Beginning; sow (land)" , "A plant grows from it" .)