TENNIS INSIDER
He Had Plenty Of Room In His Shoes. So Why Did His Toes Still Hurt?
June 14, 2026 · 8:42 am EDT
His shoes were already too long. His toes still felt squeezed.
My son is 12.
For months, after practice, I'd hear the same thing.
"My toes hurt."
"These feel tight."
Sometimes he wouldn't say anything.
He'd just rip his shoes off as soon as he got in the car.
I thought I knew what was happening.
His feet were growing.
Again.
So I did what seemed obvious.
I bought him a bigger size.
That helped for a little while.
Then the complaints started again.
So we went up another half size.
Same thing.
At one point, I pressed my thumb down in front of his longest toe.
There was plenty of room.
Probably too much, actually.
I remember telling him:
"These can't be too small. Look how much room you have."
He looked at me like I wasn't listening.
"They're not too small. They're tight HERE."
He pointed across his toes.
I loosened his laces.
We tried thinner socks.
We tried another brand.
Nothing really fixed it.
And I couldn't understand why.
How could his shoes be too tight when they were already too long?
I Thought He Just Had “Wide Feet”
That became my explanation.
Maybe he just had wide feet.
Maybe finding court shoes for him was always going to be a pain.
I also thought court shoes were supposed to feel snug.
He's running.
Stopping.
Changing direction.
You don't want his feet moving around inside the shoe.
So when he'd complain, I'd tell him:
"Give them a few practices."
"They just need breaking in."
I cringe a little thinking about that now.
Because he did give them a few practices.
His toes still hurt.
Then one Saturday, something finally made sense.
I Put His Bare Foot Next To The Shoe
We were getting ready for practice.
He put his shoes on, walked around for a few seconds and sat back down.
"Mom, I hate these."
We hadn't had them long.
And they weren't cheap.
I asked him where they hurt.
Same answer.
His toes.
So I had him take one off.
For some reason, I put his bare foot next to the shoe.
And I just stared at them.
His foot got wider around the toes.
The shoe got narrower.
I grabbed another pair from his closet.
Same thing.
Then an older pair.
Same shape.
There was plenty of room between his longest toe and the end.
But around his toes?
Not much.
I remember sitting there thinking:
Wait.
I've been checking the wrong thing.
I Kept Buying Bigger Shoes. That Wasn't Helping.
Every time my son said his shoes were tight, I checked the length.
Thumb at the front.
Plenty of room?
Okay. They fit.
That's how I'd checked his shoes since he was little.
But he wasn't telling me:
"My toes are hitting the end."
He was saying:
"My toes feel squeezed."
I'd been treating those as the same thing.
They weren't.
I'd been trying to fix it by buying longer shoes.
So his shoes kept getting longer...
and his toes still felt tight.
Once I saw his bare foot next to the shoe, it seemed almost stupidly obvious.
His foot spread out around his toes.
Most of the shoes we'd bought narrowed there.
That was it.
I didn't need to know everything about feet.
My son had already told me what was wrong.
"My toes hurt."
I just kept assuming that meant he needed a bigger size.
So I Stopped Looking For A Bigger Size
I started looking for more room at the front instead.
And I wasn't looking for some weird shoe.
My son plays on a hard court.
He still needs grip.
He still needs to feel stable when he stops and changes direction.
I wanted a real court shoe.
I just didn't want one squeezing his toes.
Once I knew what I was looking for, I started noticing how many court shoes narrowed at the front.
I'd never paid attention to it before.
They just looked normal to me.
But now I couldn't stop comparing them to the shape of his foot.
That's eventually how I found CUURT.
The Front Was What Made Me Stop
I'd never heard of CUURT before.
And after trying enough shoes that were supposed to be "comfortable," I wasn't exactly excited about another brand telling me theirs would be different.
Everybody says their shoes are comfortable.
So I looked at the shoe instead.
The Muuv looked different at the front.
There was actually room around the toes.
CUURT calls it a wide toe box.
I didn't know what a "toe box" was before all this.
I didn't really care what it was called either.
I just remember looking at it and thinking:
That's what I've been trying to find.
Not more empty shoe in front of his foot.
Room around his toes.
And it was still a proper court shoe.
That mattered to me.
I didn't want to solve one problem and create another.
He still had to run, stop and move side to side.
I just didn't see why his toes needed to feel squished while he did it.
“No More Smooshed Toes”
I started reading what other people were saying about CUURT.
One comment jumped out at me:
"No more smooshed toes."
That made me laugh.
Because after all my sizing up, loosening laces, changing socks and telling him to "break them in"...
that was basically all I'd been trying to solve.
Smooshed toes.
Nothing more complicated than that.
"Just break them in."
I said that way too many times.
Maybe they'd soften.
Maybe he'd get used to them.
Maybe after a few practices they'd feel better.
But if your kid keeps telling you their toes feel squeezed, I'd at least look at the shoe before telling them to keep wearing it.
Take it off.
Put it next to their bare foot.
Look at both from above.
Don't just check the space in front of their toes.
Look at the space around them.
That would've saved me a lot of guessing.
I Don't Want Bigger Shoes. I Want Shoes That Fit.
That's really what all of this came down to.
I don't want my son wearing shoes that are too long just so his toes have enough room.
And I don't want him pulling them off the second practice ends.
I just want shoes that actually fit his feet.
If I were shopping for his court shoes again today, that's the first thing I'd check.
Not just the size.
The shape.
Does his foot actually have room in there?
That's what made the CUURT Muuv worth trying for us.
If your kid keeps complaining that their court shoes feel tight even though there's plenty of room at the end, I'd take a look before automatically buying another half size up.
Check CUURT Muuv sizes and current availability →
And before you order anything, try the same thing I did.
Put your kid's bare foot next to their current shoe.
Look at them from above.
You might see the problem immediately.
Their shoes may already be long enough.
Their toes may just need more room.
CHECK CUURT MUUV AVAILABILITY →
"These shoes really give me a lot of room for my wide feet. The design definitely makes it so comfortable. My tennis peeps have commented on how they like the design of the shoe. At 71 y.o. I play almost daily! Hoping the outsole will last longer than some of the other name brand shoes I have been buying." - Rosita S.
"Wasn’t sure these shoes would be a good fit, but WOW they are great. Can’t believe the room in the toe box and the excellent fit to the heal of the foot. The shoes hold the court when playing and no discomfort!" - Diane J.
"My husband has played tennis and pickleball in shoes and loves them! He's played tennis for 55 years and in the last year had had issues with foot pain and swelling, now with his muuv shoes no more pain or swelling. Recently played for 4 hours in a pickleball tournament wearing these shoes and had no pain or swelling! Customer service has been wonderful! We got the wrong size initially and each email was responded to quickly. A new pair was sent and received within a week. When ordering I would suggest you size up 1 size. This has been a great experience and really impressed with the shoes! Highly recommend!" - Tona C.
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