diff --git a/adaptive/tests/test_learners.py b/adaptive/tests/test_learners.py
index 6edee2b30..6e4c4e419 100644
--- a/adaptive/tests/test_learners.py
+++ b/adaptive/tests/test_learners.py
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@
 
 try:
     from adaptive.learner.skopt_learner import SKOptLearner
-except ModuleNotFoundError:
+except (ModuleNotFoundError, ImportError):
+    # XXX: catch the ImportError because of https://github.com/scikit-optimize/scikit-optimize/issues/902
     SKOptLearner = None