diff --git a/python/tests/unit/data/conftest.py b/python/tests/unit/data/conftest.py
index d29bad7f8b..b184b60e43 100644
--- a/python/tests/unit/data/conftest.py
+++ b/python/tests/unit/data/conftest.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 
 import ast
+import asyncio
 from collections.abc import Mapping, Sequence
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Annotated, Any
@@ -23,6 +24,24 @@ from semantic_kernel.data.vector import (
 from semantic_kernel.kernel_types import OptionalOneOrMany
 
 
+@fixture(autouse=True)
+def _ensure_event_loop():
+    """Ensure a current event loop exists before each test.
+
+    Works around a pytest-asyncio 0.26 bug on Windows Python 3.10 where
+    asyncio.set_event_loop(None) can be left as state after a previous test's
+    teardown, and _provide_clean_event_loop does not recover because it only
+    creates a fresh loop when old_loop is not None.  By guaranteeing a non-None
+    loop at fixture-setup time, _temporary_event_loop_policy saves a valid
+    old_loop, so the teardown path restores a valid loop instead of None.
+    """
+    try:
+        asyncio.get_event_loop()
+    except RuntimeError:
+        asyncio.set_event_loop(asyncio.new_event_loop())
+    yield
+
+
 @fixture
 def DictVectorStoreRecordCollection() -> type[VectorSearch]:
     class DictVectorStoreRecordCollection(
diff --git a/python/uv.lock b/python/uv.lock
index 0cf93cde34..c6a7b77b9c 100644
--- a/python/uv.lock
+++ b/python/uv.lock
@@ -6746,15 +6746,15 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "starlette"
-version = "0.52.1"
+version = "1.3.1"
 source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "anyio", marker = "sys_platform == 'darwin' or sys_platform == 'linux' or sys_platform == 'win32'" },
     { name = "typing-extensions", marker = "(python_full_version < '3.13' and sys_platform == 'darwin') or (python_full_version < '3.13' and sys_platform == 'linux') or (python_full_version < '3.13' and sys_platform == 'win32')" },
 ]
-sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/c4/68/79977123bb7be889ad680d79a40f339082c1978b5cfcf62c2d8d196873ac/starlette-0.52.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:834edd1b0a23167694292e94f597773bc3f89f362be6effee198165a35d62933", size = 2653702, upload-time = "2026-01-18T13:34:11.062Z" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/eb/e3/7c1dc7381d9f8ab7d854328ebfa884e62cb3f3d8549ddfd37c7814f42afa/starlette-1.3.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:05d0213193f2fbaae60e2ecb593b4add4262ad4e46536b54abe36f11a71724e0", size = 2703240, upload-time = "2026-06-12T09:23:11.602Z" }
 wheels = [
-    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/81/0d/13d1d239a25cbfb19e740db83143e95c772a1fe10202dda4b76792b114dd/starlette-0.52.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:0029d43eb3d273bc4f83a08720b4912ea4b071087a3b48db01b7c839f7954d74", size = 74272, upload-time = "2026-01-18T13:34:09.188Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ec/bb/2799cc2ede3ed41131f8975621e7213dfc7ef4acbbaadfa440f32500c370/starlette-1.3.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:c7372aae11c3c3f26a42df7bd626cec2f47d03483d261d369516a615a53714c6", size = 73632, upload-time = "2026-06-12T09:23:10.017Z" },
 ]
 
 [[package]]