diff --git a/internal/grpctest/grpctest.go b/internal/grpctest/grpctest.go
index dca24ab99842..8acca9579c5a 100644
--- a/internal/grpctest/grpctest.go
+++ b/internal/grpctest/grpctest.go
@@ -61,8 +61,9 @@ func RunSubTests(t *testing.T, x interface{}) {
 		tfunc := getTestFunc(t, xv, methodName)
 		t.Run(strings.TrimPrefix(methodName, "Test"), func(t *testing.T) {
 			setup(t)
+			// defer teardown to guarantee it is run even if tfunc uses t.Fatal()
+			defer teardown(t)
 			tfunc(t)
-			teardown(t)
 		})
 	}
 }