diff --git a/PROJECT.md b/PROJECT.md
index 0bbab80..eeaaeb9 100644
--- a/PROJECT.md
+++ b/PROJECT.md
@@ -5420,6 +5420,31 @@ Oliver: *"bitte bau nochmal die Funktion ein die protokolliert warum ich einen B
 - Note: contact still fires on the first frame the ball is in reach, which right after a bounce is
   often 15-25 cm off the grass. A visual half-volley, the old contact model; untouched.
 
+### Oliver's first swing log (v365, cup vs THE BRUTE) and what it changed (2026-10-14, v366)
+**His question: "am I just bad or is something off".** Read off the log:
+- 22 hits: 13 at q = 1, 9 under 0.5. Six of the nine bad ones were "deep right" (the forward-right
+  flick), which failed 6 of its 9 tries; the left flick failed 3 of 10. The bad hits split between
+  EARLY (the ball met at the edge of reach, d 1.55-1.73) and LATE (the ball already on top of him,
+  d 0.55-0.73). It is timing, with no single offset.
+- Weak balls are what the Brute (power, league-5 quality) punishes. Seven LOST "passed you", and
+  several of them follow a weak hit of his within a second.
+- Every hit said `tap 0ms`: he flicks everything. Hypothesis to check in the next log: the gore
+  slingshot habit. A pull-back before the forward flick crosses `flickMin` DOWNWARD, which fires the
+  swing early, and the live aim turns to "deep right" by contact.
+
+**Changes:**
+- **Flicks are timed from touch-down too** (`keyPressed(code, lead, flick)`; input.js passes the
+  crossing's age, capped at `flickLead` 0.1 s so a slow drag keeps a window). The timed ring means
+  "touch now" for both gestures. The log says `flick 46ms` / `tap 120ms`. Verified with real touch
+  events.
+- **The log's missing half:** a THEM line per opponent shot (kind, spin, q, pace, where it lands
+  relative to the player, OUT, "coming in"), and `whiffed it` for a CPU flub. "Never swung" is now judged
+  per incoming ball: `G.swung` and `G.rallyNear` reset at the opponent's strike. It used to be judged
+  once a point, so none of his "passed you" lines could say whether he swung or how close the ball came.
+- **An early swing on a low skidding ball no longer whiffs.** The let-it-bounce gate waits only while
+  the bounce will land inside the swing window. Otherwise it digs the ball out as a half-volley, capped
+  below the tape. His 48.14 s MISS was exactly this.
+
 # OPEN — leftovers, in rough priority order
 
 Nothing here is broken; these are known gaps and unverified risks.
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 0b8a461..89e89ea 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -1140,6 +1140,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
   </div>
 </div>
 <span id="recLamp" hidden>REC</span>
-<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=365"></script>
+<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=366"></script>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/src/config.js b/src/config.js
index 5409469..c3446ed 100644
--- a/src/config.js
+++ b/src/config.js
@@ -647,6 +647,7 @@ export const TUNE = {
                     // the swing window, at any pace. 0 = the old distance ring (matchRingSweet/Band)
   ringBand: 0.35,   // share of the half-window either side of the sweet moment that draws gold (edge = q 0.65)
   ringLead: 0.9,    // s before contact the timed ring appears
+  flickLead: 0.1,   // s: a flick is timed from touch-down too, up to this much (a slow drag keeps a window)
   // ---- THE READ (2026-08-28, Oliver: past the HEAD COACH "the opponents are very fast and barely
   // make mistakes any more — we need a twist"). The dead staff LEARN YOUR PATTERNS: land the same
   // lane readHabit times in a row and the opponent has the habit — an EXPECTED ball is anticipated
diff --git a/src/gameplay.js b/src/gameplay.js
index f1c6973..2cb73bd 100644
--- a/src/gameplay.js
+++ b/src/gameplay.js
@@ -366,6 +366,20 @@ function doHit(ch, quality, aim) {
   ball.approach = rallyFeel() && ball.rx && ball.rx.short && !(ball.from < TUNE.netFrom) ? ch.side : null;
   ball.from = Math.abs(ch.z - COURT.netZ);
   ball.lastHit = ch.side; ball.bounces = 0; ball.rx = null; // a new shot: the receiver plans it afresh
+  // THE SWING LOG's other half: what came at you. A LOST "passed you" line is unreadable without it —
+  // was that ball reachable at all? And "never swung" is judged per incoming ball, not once a point.
+  if (ch.side !== 'P' && swingLog()) {
+    G.swung = false; G.rallyNear = null;
+    const land = predictLanding(), mark = !land ? '' : (() => {
+      const dx = land.x - P.x, inside = r2(COURT.L - land.z);
+      const out = Math.abs(land.x) > COURT.W / 2 || land.z > COURT.L || land.z < COURT.netZ;
+      return ` · lands ${r2(Math.abs(dx))}m ${dx < 0 ? 'left' : 'right'} of you, ${inside}m inside your line${out ? ' (OUT)' : ''}`;
+    })();
+    const kind = soft === null ? (aim && aim.az < 0 ? 'deep' : 'drive') + (ball.spin > 1 ? ' topspin' : ball.spin < 1 ? ' slice' : '')
+      : soft === 0 ? 'drop' : soft >= 1 ? 'lob' : 'moonball';
+    logSwing({ result: 'THEM', reason: `${kind} q=${r2(quality)} · ${Math.round(Math.hypot(ball.vx, ball.vz))}m/s${mark}`
+      + (ball.approach === ch.side ? ' · coming in' : '') });
+  }
   G.wasServe = false; // a serve volleyed back pre-bounce must not fault-check the return
   ball.pow = quality; // carried pace: zombies splatter only above zSplatQ
   ball.kills = 0;     // fresh shot: multi-kill streak restarts
@@ -1603,7 +1617,7 @@ function logWhiff() {
     else if (inWin.every(s => s.y < CONTACT.minY)) reason = `too low — ball at ${r2(best.y)}m, past you`;
     else reason = 'unclassified — in reach, in window, in height band'; // should not happen
   }
-  logSwing({ result: 'MISS', reason: reason + ` · tap ${P.tap || 0}ms`, dMin: r2(best.d), y: r2(best.y), tSwing: r2(best.t),
+  logSwing({ result: 'MISS', reason: reason + ` · ${P.flick ? 'flick' : 'tap'} ${P.tap || 0}ms`, dMin: r2(best.d), y: r2(best.y), tSwing: r2(best.t),
     ballZ: r2(best.bz), bounces: best.bounces, px: r2(P.x), pz: r2(P.z) });
 }
 
@@ -1629,7 +1643,14 @@ function trySwing(ch, isAI, qCap = TUNE.aiQualityMax) {
   const dx = ball.x - ch.x, dz = ball.z - ch.z;
   if (Math.hypot(dx, dz * 0.8) > reach || ball.y > CONTACT.maxY) return;
   if (ball.y < CONTACT.minY && ball.vy <= 0) return; // a DROPPING ball below the ankles is past you — but a rising one is a half-volley, always scoopable
-  if (letBounce()) return; // planned from the back: the swing waits for the bounce instead of a weak pick-up
+  // planned from the back, the swing WAITS for the bounce instead of a weak pick-up — but only while
+  // the bounce will still land inside this window. If it will not, this is the last chance and the
+  // low ball is dug out as a half-volley (the below-the-tape cap prices it): a swing a touch early
+  // used to WHIFF here, which read as the game eating a good swing (Oliver's log, 2026-10-14).
+  if (letBounce()) {
+    const gg = ball.g || TUNE.gravity, tb = (ball.vy + Math.sqrt(ball.vy * ball.vy + 2 * gg * ball.y)) / gg;
+    if (t + tb < TUNE.swingWindup + win) return;
+  }
   // quality: how centered in the window the contact lands
   const center = TUNE.swingWindup + win / 2;
   const off = Math.abs(t - center) / (win / 2);
@@ -1684,7 +1705,7 @@ function trySwing(ch, isAI, qCap = TUNE.aiQualityMax) {
     const sway = swayOf(aim), lane = Math.abs(sway) > 0.15 ? (sway < 0 ? ' left' : ' right') : '';
     const cap = q >= q0 ? '' : ball.rx && ball.rx.lob ? ' · capped: lobbed, on your heels'
       : ball.bounces === 0 ? ' · capped: volley below the tape' : ' · capped: dug out a drop';
-    logSwing({ result: 'HIT', reason: `q=${r2(q)}${kind}${lane}${volley ? ' volley' : ''} · tap ${P.tap || 0}ms${cap}`,
+    logSwing({ result: 'HIT', reason: `q=${r2(q)}${kind}${lane}${volley ? ' volley' : ''} · ${P.flick ? 'flick' : 'tap'} ${P.tap || 0}ms${cap}`,
       d: r2(Math.hypot(dx, dz * 0.8)), y: r2(ball.y) });
   }
   doHit(ch, q, aim);
@@ -1802,6 +1823,7 @@ function racketAI(rz, dt) {
       + (G.match && G.match.surprised ? TUNE.surpFlub * learnK(rz) : 0);
     if (Math.random() < flub) {
       recordEvent('opponent_whiff', { chance: flub, chaseSpeed: rzChaseSpeed(rz), reach: TUNE.aiReach * wnd.reach });
+      if (swingLog()) logSwing({ result: 'THEM', reason: 'whiffed it' });
       rz.swingCool = 0.5; // whiff — it hesitates (rarer per rung of the ladder)
     }
     else {
@@ -1904,7 +1926,7 @@ function meleeCooldown() {
                   TUNE.meleeCool / (1 + Math.max(0, near - 1) * TUNE.meleeCrowd));
 }
 
-export function keyPressed(code, lead = 0) {
+export function keyPressed(code, lead = 0, flick = false) {
   // THE SPRITE BENCH takes the key before anything else reads it: it is a back-room art test with no
   // ball and no scoring, so every other meaning a key has here is meaningless inside it.
   if (G.bench) return benchKey(code);
@@ -2003,7 +2025,7 @@ export function keyPressed(code, lead = 0) {
     // clock starts that far along: the timing is judged from touch-down, the ball still has to be
     // there for the contact.
     P.swingT = rallyFeel() ? lead : 0; P.pose = 'swing'; P.poseT = 0; G.swung = true;
-    P.tap = Math.round(lead * 1000); // ...and the log says how long the tap was (0 = a key or a flick)
+    P.tap = Math.round(lead * 1000); P.flick = flick; // ...and the log says which gesture, and how long it took to fire
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/input.js b/src/input.js
index eeb89f6..dea90e4 100644
--- a/src/input.js
+++ b/src/input.js
@@ -207,7 +207,12 @@ cv.addEventListener('touchmove', e => {
       ? { ax: Math.abs(dx) > dist * 0.38 ? Math.sign(dx) : 0,
           az: Math.abs(dy) > dist * 0.38 ? Math.sign(dy) : 0,
           fx: dx / dist, fy: dy / dist, mag: dist } : null;
-    if (G.swipe && !stick.swung && G.phase === 'rally') { stick.swung = true; keyPressed('Space'); }
+    // ...timed, like the tap, from the moment the finger LANDED (gameplay.keyPressed's `lead`): the
+    // timed gold ring means "touch now", and a flick only swings once it has travelled flickMin.
+    // Capped at flickLead, so a slow drag still has a window to swing into (the left-flick lesson).
+    if (G.swipe && !stick.swung && G.phase === 'rally') {
+      stick.swung = true; keyPressed('Space', Math.min(TUNE.flickLead, (performance.now() - stick.t0) / 1000), true);
+    }
   }
 }, { passive: false });
 
@@ -235,7 +240,7 @@ const endTouch = e => {
                    az: Math.abs(dy) > dist * 0.38 ? Math.sign(dy) : 0,
                    fx: dx / dist, fy: dy / dist, mag: dist,                // raw vector: splatter free-aim
                    t: performance.now() };
-      if (!stick.swung) keyPressed('Space'); // the crossing already swung — never twice per gesture
+      if (!stick.swung) keyPressed('Space', Math.min(TUNE.flickLead, dt / 1000), true); // the crossing already swung — never twice per gesture
     }
     stick = null; touchAxis.x = 0; touchAxis.z = 0; G.swipe = null;
   }
diff --git a/src/render.js b/src/render.js
index 705ae0c..f777fa2 100644
--- a/src/render.js
+++ b/src/render.js
@@ -3317,7 +3317,7 @@ export function render() {
     ctx.fillStyle = UI.dim; ctx.fillText('SWING LOG — TAP HERE TO COPY · SCOREBOARD HIDES', 10, L.y + 5);
     const maxCh = Math.floor((W - 20) / 4.3);
     list.forEach((e, i) => {
-      ctx.fillStyle = e.result === 'HIT' || e.result === 'WON' ? '#7fd07f' : '#ff9060';
+      ctx.fillStyle = e.result === 'HIT' || e.result === 'WON' ? '#7fd07f' : e.result === 'THEM' ? UI.dim : '#ff9060';
       ctx.fillText((e.at + 's ' + e.result + ' ' + e.reason).slice(0, maxCh), 10, L.y + 16 + i * lh);
     });
   }
diff --git a/test.js b/test.js
index fd2a8db..48faa11 100644
--- a/test.js
+++ b/test.js
@@ -1390,6 +1390,10 @@ test('THE SWING LOG writes in the match too: a whiff, a hit with its tap, and wh
     }
     const hit = G.missLog.find(e => e.result === 'HIT');
     assert.ok(hit && /^q=/.test(hit.reason) && /tap 100ms/.test(hit.reason), 'the hit says how it was struck: ' + (hit && hit.reason));
+    // ...and the opponent's half is there: what it hit back, and where it lands relative to you
+    for (let i = 0; i < 2 * 60 && ball.lastHit === 'P'; i++) { zb.swingCool = 0; update(DT); }
+    const them = G.missLog.find(e => e.result === 'THEM');
+    assert.ok(them && (/lands/.test(them.reason) || /whiffed/.test(them.reason)), 'the reply is logged: ' + (them && them.reason));
   } finally { TUNE.autoAssist = assist; }
 });