diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/watch/retrywatcher_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/watch/retrywatcher_test.go
index cd57e51c52..bd45dd49d4 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/watch/retrywatcher_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/watch/retrywatcher_test.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/diff"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/watch"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache"
 	"k8s.io/klog"
@@ -549,9 +550,17 @@ func TestRetryWatcher(t *testing.T) {
 				break
 			}
 
-			counter := atomic.LoadUint32(atomicCounter)
-			if counter != tc.watchCount {
+			var counter uint32
+			// We always count with the last watch reestablishing which is imminent but still a race.
+			// We will wait for the last watch to reestablish to avoid it.
+			err = wait.PollImmediate(10*time.Millisecond, 10*time.Second, func() (done bool, err error) {
+				counter = atomic.LoadUint32(atomicCounter)
+				return counter == tc.watchCount, nil
+			})
+			if err == wait.ErrWaitTimeout {
 				t.Errorf("expected %d watcher starts, but it has started %d times", tc.watchCount, counter)
+			} else if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
 			}
 
 			if !reflect.DeepEqual(tc.expected, got) {