diff --git a/src/client/writer.rs b/src/client/writer.rs
index 20a743c63..a3692358f 100644
--- a/src/client/writer.rs
+++ b/src/client/writer.rs
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ impl HttpClientWriter {
             // status line
             let _ = write!(buffer, "{} {} {:?}\r\n",
                            msg.method(), 
-                           msg.uri().path_and_query().map(|u| u.as_str()).unwrap_or(""), 
+                           msg.uri().path_and_query().map(|u| u.as_str()).unwrap_or("/"), 
                            msg.version());
 
             // write headers