diff --git a/litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py b/litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py
index 5fc8c44b2d8..40ce102b8d5 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py
@@ -398,9 +398,29 @@ class ProxyInitializationHelpers:
 
     @staticmethod
     def _get_loop_type():
-        """Helper function to determine the event loop type based on platform"""
+        """Helper function to determine the event loop type based on platform.
+
+        Returns ``None`` (let uvicorn pick the default asyncio loop) when:
+
+          - the platform doesn't ship uvloop (Windows + cygwin); OR
+          - uvloop is installed but can't be imported on the current
+            Python — see GH #20933, where the pinned ``uvloop==0.21.0``
+            fails on Python 3.14.2 with ``ImportError: cannot import
+            name 'BaseDefaultEventLoopPolicy' from 'asyncio.events'``.
+
+        Probing via ``import uvloop`` here is cheap (one-time at proxy
+        startup) and lets the proxy boot under any Python version even
+        when the lock-file-pinned uvloop happens to be incompatible.
+        Users wanting uvloop's perf back on a previously-broken Python
+        install ``uvloop>=0.22.1`` themselves; the probe picks the new
+        wheel up automatically.
+        """
         if sys.platform in ("win32", "cygwin", "cli"):
-            return None  # Let uvicorn choose the default loop on Windows
+            return None
+        try:
+            import uvloop  # noqa: F401
+        except ImportError:
+            return None
         return "uvloop"
 
     @staticmethod
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/test_proxy_cli.py b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/test_proxy_cli.py
index 327200a6a95..ff649019a4b 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/proxy/test_proxy_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/proxy/test_proxy_cli.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ sys.path.insert(
     0, os.path.abspath("../../..")
 )  # Adds the parent directory to the system-path
 
-import builtins
 import types
 
 from litellm.proxy.proxy_cli import ProxyInitializationHelpers
@@ -82,6 +81,44 @@ class TestProxyInitializationHelpers:
         )
         mock_client.chat.completions.create.assert_called()
 
+    @patch("sys.platform", "linux")
+    def test_get_loop_type_returns_uvloop_when_available(self):
+        """On Linux/macOS with a working uvloop install, return "uvloop"."""
+        # uvloop is in the proxy extras and importable in this test env.
+        assert ProxyInitializationHelpers._get_loop_type() == "uvloop"
+
+    @patch("sys.platform", "win32")
+    def test_get_loop_type_returns_none_on_windows(self):
+        """Windows / cygwin don't ship uvloop — let uvicorn pick the default."""
+        assert ProxyInitializationHelpers._get_loop_type() is None
+
+    @patch("sys.platform", "linux")
+    def test_get_loop_type_returns_none_when_uvloop_unimportable(self):
+        """GH #20933: uvloop 0.21.0 fails to import on Python 3.14.2 with
+        ``ImportError: cannot import name 'BaseDefaultEventLoopPolicy'
+        from 'asyncio.events'``. Before the fix this propagated up
+        through ``uvicorn.run`` and crashed proxy startup. The probe in
+        ``_get_loop_type`` now catches the ImportError and falls back
+        to ``None`` so uvicorn picks the default asyncio loop.
+
+        Implementation note: setting ``sys.modules["uvloop"] = None``
+        is the documented Python idiom for forcing the next
+        ``import uvloop`` statement to raise ImportError (see CPython
+        importlib source). This routes through the real ``try / except``
+        block in ``_get_loop_type`` rather than mocking it away, so
+        coverage tools see the fallback branch executed.
+        """
+        # Drop any cached real-uvloop module so the patched None takes effect.
+        original = sys.modules.get("uvloop", _MISSING := object())
+        sys.modules["uvloop"] = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
+        try:
+            assert ProxyInitializationHelpers._get_loop_type() is None
+        finally:
+            if original is _MISSING:
+                sys.modules.pop("uvloop", None)
+            else:
+                sys.modules["uvloop"] = original
+
     def test_get_default_unvicorn_init_args(self):
         # Test without log_config
         args = ProxyInitializationHelpers._get_default_unvicorn_init_args(