diff --git a/HANDOFF-MATCH.md b/HANDOFF-MATCH.md
index b9b4c01..8d31790 100644
--- a/HANDOFF-MATCH.md
+++ b/HANDOFF-MATCH.md
@@ -98,8 +98,12 @@ communicating its own rules. Model A only works if the player can see they are b
    because hitting flat is a legal shot and not a mistake. **One lesson at a time:** the tap hint
    wins if both qualify, since teaching placement to someone who cannot reach the ball is the wrong
    lesson. Touch only (on a keyboard the aim is held keys, and SWIPE would name a gesture that does
-   not exist there), and it runs in the MATCH as well as classic — the match is `splatter` under a
-   permanent interlude, so a `G.mode === 'tennis'` gate would have missed the mode it was built for.
+   not exist there). **It belongs to the RALLY MODES and only those — classic and zombie tennis —
+   which is what `rallyFeel()` already means.** Not gore, and not gore's OPENER: `G.mode ===
+   'tennis'` covers classic AND that prologue, which is the wrong seam (Oliver, 2026-08-17: "if it
+   is in gore mode this would be the wrong place"). Note the match is not mode `'tennis'` at all —
+   it plays under splatter's permanent interlude — so the mode check alone would have missed the
+   very mode it was built for, in both directions at once.
    The words sit ABOVE the stroke: below them is the baseline, and 10px type over that white line
    is unreadable.
 
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index f59df57..dbd9ea2 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -659,6 +659,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one') {
     </div>
   </div>
 </div>
-<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=278"></script>
+<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=279"></script>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/src/render.js b/src/render.js
index 09568d9..95f85c5 100644
--- a/src/render.js
+++ b/src/render.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import { cv, ctx } from './dom.js';
 import { BENCH, BENCH_STAGES, ZFAMS, famFrames, racketStage, TUNE, UI, EATEN_BURST, EATEN_SUMMARY, EATEN_RESTART, DONE_RESTART, COURT, P_BOUNDS, PLAYER_H, BOY_H, UMP_H, UMP_X, MACH_H, BOSS_ART, ZWOUND, woundStage, BOUNCE_IDLE, SPRITE_H, zombieH , WEAPONS, RACK_ROW, TOSS, HEAD_CROP, CUP_ROUNDS, TINT } from './config.js';
 import { P, O, ball, score, crowd, G, court, tour, kit, skin } from './state.js';
-import { predictLanding, previewServe, slotId, slotStock, serveApexY } from './gameplay.js';
+import { predictLanding, previewServe, slotId, slotStock, serveApexY, rallyFeel } from './gameplay.js';
 import { drillQueue, drillLegal, drillMult } from './drill.js';
 import { zombies, gore, piles, parts, pellets, extras, shots, pops } from './zombies.js';
 
@@ -2731,12 +2731,17 @@ export function render() {
   }
   // the tennis struggle hints: both ride the exact failure they answer, and only one at a time —
   // teaching the flick to someone who cannot get a racket on the ball is the wrong lesson, so the
-  // tap always wins. The flick lesson also runs in the MATCH (G.match plays under splatter's
-  // permanent interlude, not mode 'tennis') and on touch only: on a keyboard the aim is held keys,
-  // and 'SWIPE' would be an instruction for a gesture that does not exist there.
+  // tap always wins.
+  // THE FLICK LESSON BELONGS TO THE RALLY MODES, which is what rallyFeel() already means: CLASSIC
+  // and ZOMBIE TENNIS. Not the gore mode, and not gore's OPENER either — that tennis is a prologue
+  // you play for one game before the court turns, and placement is not the skill it is asking for.
+  // (`G.mode === 'tennis'` covered classic AND that prologue, which is exactly the wrong seam; the
+  // match itself is not mode 'tennis' at all, it plays under splatter's permanent interlude.)
+  // Touch only: on a keyboard the aim is held keys and 'SWIPE' would name a gesture that does not
+  // exist there.
   const inRally = G.phase === 'rally' && ball.active && ball.lastHit === 'O';
   if (G.mode === 'tennis' && inRally && G.passStreak >= 2) drawHitHint();
-  else if (IS_TOUCH && inRally && (G.mode === 'tennis' || G.match) && G.flatStreak >= TUNE.flickHintAfter)
+  else if (IS_TOUCH && inRally && rallyFeel() && G.flatStreak >= TUNE.flickHintAfter)
     drawFlickHint();
   // The free-floating register: no panel, one fixed slot, shouted. PERFECT, GAME N, DOUBLE KILL,
   // RETURNED, CHANGEOVER, weapon labels — everything that used to be plain white 12px text sitting