diff --git a/Lib/test/test_smtpnet.py b/Lib/test/test_smtpnet.py
index 61ecd74f86a..7d0fa98b7b1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_smtpnet.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_smtpnet.py
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 import unittest
 from test import support
 import smtplib
-import ssl
+
+ssl = support.import_module("ssl")
 
 support.requires("network")