diff --git a/milli/src/search/criteria/proximity.rs b/milli/src/search/criteria/proximity.rs
index b9cf47c8e..6b09ee2fe 100644
--- a/milli/src/search/criteria/proximity.rs
+++ b/milli/src/search/criteria/proximity.rs
@@ -496,7 +496,11 @@ fn resolve_plane_sweep_candidates(
                             None => return Ok(vec![]),
                         }
                     }
-                    groups_positions.push(plane_sweep(subgroup, true)?);
+                    match subgroup.len() {
+                        0 => {},
+                        1 => groups_positions.push(subgroup.pop().unwrap()),
+                        _ => groups_positions.push(plane_sweep(subgroup, true)?),
+                    }
                 }
                 match groups_positions.len() {
                     0 => vec![],