diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
index f729a02898c6..5c30e56cb5ed 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
@@ -4197,6 +4197,7 @@ def test_auto_numticks():
     fig, axes = plt.subplots(4, 4)
 
 
+@cleanup
 def test_remove_shared_axes():
     def _helper_x(ax):
         ax2 = ax.twinx()