diff --git a/tests/ssl-opt.sh b/tests/ssl-opt.sh
index 1f7a4adb3..238995ff8 100755
--- a/tests/ssl-opt.sh
+++ b/tests/ssl-opt.sh
@@ -112,6 +112,28 @@ has_mem_err() {
     fi
 }
 
+# wait for server to be ready
+wait_srv_ready() {
+    if is_polar "$SRV_CMD"; then
+        READY_MSG="Waiting for a remote connection"
+    else
+        READY_MSG="ACCEPT"
+    fi
+
+    # If the server isn't ready after 10 secs, something probably went wrong
+    ( sleep 10; echo "SERVERSTART TIMEOUT"; kill $MAIN_PID ) &
+    WATCHDOG_PID=$!
+
+    while ! grep "$READY_MSG" $SRV_OUT >/dev/null; do
+        # don't use sleep, since the whole goal is to avoid wasting time,
+        # and 1 second is usually way more than the server needs to start
+        true
+    done
+
+    kill $WATCHDOG_PID
+    wait $WATCHDOG_PID
+}
+
 # Usage: run_test name srv_cmd cli_cmd cli_exit [option [...]]
 # Options:  -s pattern  pattern that must be present in server output
 #           -c pattern  pattern that must be present in client output
@@ -145,7 +167,7 @@ run_test() {
     echo "$SRV_CMD" > $SRV_OUT
     $SRV_CMD >> $SRV_OUT 2>&1 &
     SRV_PID=$!
-    sleep 1
+    wait_srv_ready
     echo "$CLI_CMD" > $CLI_OUT
     eval "$CLI_CMD" >> $CLI_OUT 2>&1
     CLI_EXIT=$?