diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/test_sdist.py
@@ -382,6 +382,10 @@ class SDistTestCase(PyPIRCCommandTestCas
         self.assertEqual(manifest, ['README.manual'])
 
         archive_name = join(self.tmp_dir, 'dist', 'fake-1.0.tar.gz')
+        # XXX temp debugging info
+        if not os.path.exists(archive_name):
+            print(*os.listdir(self.tmp_dir), sep=os.linesep)
+            print(*os.listdir(os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, 'dist')), sep=os.linesep)
         archive = tarfile.open(archive_name)
         try:
             filenames = [tarinfo.name for tarinfo in archive]