diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/sphinx/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/sphinx/default.nix
index eaa4d0067dcf..cc54714fc82d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/sphinx/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/sphinx/default.nix
@@ -133,6 +133,12 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     "tests/test_build_linkcheck.py"
   ];
 
+  disabledTestPaths = [
+    # flaky test under load:
+    # (           index: line    2) broken    http://localhost:7777/#top - HTTPConnectionPool(host='localhost', port=7777): Read timed out. (read timeout=0.05)
+    "tests/test_build_linkcheck.py"
+  ];
+
   meta = {
     description = "Python documentation generator";
     longDescription = ''