diff --git a/frontend/nginx.conf b/frontend/nginx.conf
index c15d713..52429a0 100644
--- a/frontend/nginx.conf
+++ b/frontend/nginx.conf
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@ server {
         include /etc/nginx/proxy-params.conf;
     }
 
-    # Connection request — rate-limited to prevent spam
-    location /api/connections/request {
+    # Connection request (send) — exact match to avoid catching /requests/*
+    location = /api/connections/request {
         limit_req zone=conn_request_limit burst=3 nodelay;
         limit_req_status 429;
         include /etc/nginx/proxy-params.conf;