| TRIALIST | Considered player to be tense, pragmatic type - one to replace Kane in the end |
| ASPIRANT | Ambitious and venomous type, one to sound off |
| SLED | Childhood possession named Rosebud which belonged to Citizen Kane in the film of the same name (4) |
| FORAYS | Sally's with Charles Foster Kane in the middle of taking in fish (6) |
| AGNES | ___ Muirhead was Mary Kane in the 1941 classic, Citizen Kane (5) |
| PASTPERFECT | In days gone by, it's ideal to be tense |
| TAUGHT | Instructed to be tense, by the sound of it (6) |
| STRUNG | Saint phoned to put on thread when highly likely to be tense (6) |
| ORSONWELLES | Kane in the 1941 classic, Citizen Kane (5,6) |
| MARILYN | First name of actress playing Sugar Kane in the 1959 movie, Some Like It Hot (7) |
| GARYCOOPER | Actor whose film roles include Marshal Will Kane in the 1952 Western High Noon (a4,) |
| LIBEL | Call one to replace article that's the reason sidesman brought what's in bottom half of 17 |
| TAUT | Gave instructions for the audience to be tense (4) |
| STRAINS | Causes to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious. (7) |
| MORAN | First player to be sent off in the FA Cup Final (5) |
| DENNISBERGKAMP | The only Dutch player to be inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame |
| LLEYTONHEWITT | Youngest male tennis player to be No. 1 in the ATP Rankings |
| NONA | ... Gaprindashvili, the first woman chess player to be awarded the GM title. (4) |
| WAMBACH | Abby who was the first soccer player to be named AP's Athlete of the Year |
| DINOZOFF | Italian goalkeeper, the oldest ever player to be in a World Cup-winning team |
