diff --git a/hack/make-rules/test.sh b/hack/make-rules/test.sh
index 6ad4af19961ae..1881fbcb16b05 100755
--- a/hack/make-rules/test.sh
+++ b/hack/make-rules/test.sh
@@ -156,8 +156,10 @@ junitFilenamePrefix() {
   fi
   mkdir -p "${KUBE_JUNIT_REPORT_DIR}"
   local KUBE_TEST_API_NO_SLASH="${KUBE_TEST_API//\//-}"
-  # This file name isn't parsed by anything, and tee needs a shorter file name.
+  # This filename isn't parsed by anything,
+  # and we must avoid exceeding 255 character filename limit.
   KUBE_TEST_API_NO_SLASH="${KUBE_TEST_API_NO_SLASH//k8s.io-/}"
+  KUBE_TEST_API_NO_SLASH="$(echo "$KUBE_TEST_API_NO_SLASH"|sed 's/\([0-9]\)alpha\([0-9]\)/\1a\2/g;s/\([0-9]\)beta\([0-9]\)/\1b\2/g')"
   echo "${KUBE_JUNIT_REPORT_DIR}/junit_${KUBE_TEST_API_NO_SLASH}_$(kube::util::sortable_date)"
 }