diff --git a/mitmproxy/__init__.py b/mitmproxy/__init__.py
index e69de29bb..e930cf1e4 100644
--- a/mitmproxy/__init__.py
+++ b/mitmproxy/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import asyncio
+import sys
+
+if sys.platform == 'win32':
+    # workaround for
+    # https://github.com/tornadoweb/tornado/issues/2751
+    # https://www.tornadoweb.org/en/stable/index.html#installation
+    asyncio.set_event_loop_policy(asyncio.WindowsSelectorEventLoopPolicy())