TENNIS INSIDER
June 14, 2026 · 8:42 am EDT
He ripped his court shoes off after every practice. I kept buying bigger ones.
My son is 12.
For months, we had basically the same conversation after practice.
"Mom, my toes hurt."
I'd look at his shoes.
"They're already your size."
"But they're tight."
So I'd loosen the laces.
Or tell him to give them another few practices.
And when that didn't work?
I'd buy a bigger pair.
It seemed obvious.
He's 12. His feet are growing all the time.
If his shoes felt tight, he'd probably grown out of them.
Except the bigger shoes didn't really fix it.
He'd finish practice, sit down and loosen the laces before he'd even packed his stuff.
Sometimes he'd pull the shoes off completely.
By the time we got to the car, he'd be sitting there in his socks.
I'd ask:
"Better?"
"Yeah."
I should've paid more attention to that.
Instead, I thought he was being a little dramatic.
He's running.
Stopping.
Changing direction.
Of course the shoes need to feel secure.
So when he complained, I had an answer ready.
"Loosen them a little."
"Wear thinner socks."
"They just need breaking in."
"Give them another week."
I said that last one a lot.
And he did give them another week.
His toes still hurt.
Then we'd try another pair.
Same thing.
New shoes would feel okay at first.
A few practices later:
"Mom, these are tight."
I'd check the size.
Plenty of room at the end.
So we'd loosen the laces again.
Try different socks.
Maybe go up another half size.
It became this annoying little cycle.
And honestly, I thought maybe this was just going to be a problem with his feet.
Maybe he had wide feet.
Maybe court shoes were always going to be uncomfortable for him.
Then one practice made me realize I'd been hearing him without really listening.
He'd been playing for about an hour.
When he came off the court, he sat down and pulled both shoes off straight away.
He started rubbing the front of his foot.
I asked what was wrong.
"My toes are killing me."
I remember feeling frustrated.
Not really with him.
With the shoes.
We'd just bought them.
They were the right size.
They weren't cheap.
What else was I supposed to buy?
Then he said:
"They feel fine here."
He pointed to the end of the shoe.
"Just not here."
Then he pointed across his toes.
That finally got through to me.
I'd been hearing:
"My toes hurt."
And thinking:
He needs a bigger size.
But that wasn't what he was saying.
When we got home, I grabbed a piece of paper.
I had him stand barefoot on it.
Then I traced around his foot with a pen.
I don't even remember why I thought to do it.
Then I put one of his court shoes next to the outline.
His foot spread out at the front.
The shoe narrowed.
I stared at them for a second.
Then I grabbed another pair.
Same thing.
And an older pair.
Same.
His shoes had plenty of room at the end.
But around his toes?
Not much.
That was the part I'd been missing.
Every time he complained, I checked the length.
Then I'd buy more length.
No wonder we kept ending up in the same place.
Going up half a size gave him more room.
But mostly in front of his foot.
So now he had extra shoe he didn't need at the end...
and he was still complaining about his toes.
I'd look at all that empty space and think:
How can these possibly still be tight?
Now I could see it.
The front of his shoe narrowed right where his foot got wider.
So I stopped looking for another bigger size.
I started looking for a court shoe with more room around his toes.
That's all I wanted.
I wasn't looking for something huge and loose.
He's playing on a court.
He needs to feel stable when he stops.
He needs to move side to side.
I didn't want to fix his toes and end up with a shoe he couldn't actually play in.
I just wanted a proper court shoe that didn't squeeze him at the front.
That's how I found CUURT.
I'd never heard of them.
And by that point, words like "comfortable" didn't mean much to me.
Every shoe says it's comfortable.
So I looked at the actual shoe.
The Muuv had noticeably more room around the toes.
CUURT calls it a wide toe box.
I didn't know that phrase before.
I just looked at the shape and thought:
That's what I've been trying to find.
Not a longer shoe.
Not looser laces.
Room around his toes.
And it was still a real court shoe.
He could still stop, change direction and play the way he normally plays.
There was just more room at the front.
That was what mattered to me.
One CUURT customer described it like this:
"No more smooshed toes."
Yep.
That was pretty much it.
I'd spent months buying bigger sizes.
Loosening laces.
Changing socks.
Trying different brands.
Telling him to break his shoes in.
And what I really wanted was much simpler.
No more smooshed toes.
This is probably the part I feel worst about.
There were definitely times I thought my son was making too much of it.
The shoes fit.
They were new.
They were a good brand.
What was the problem?
But he's 12.
He wasn't going to explain shoe shape to me.
He said:
"My toes hurt."
He'd been telling me what was wrong.
I just kept assuming I knew what he meant.
And looking back, telling him to "break them in" makes me cringe a little.
If your kid keeps taking their shoes off the second they're done playing, I'd pay attention.
If they're always loosening the laces, I'd pay attention.
And if they keep pointing to their toes?
I'd definitely pay attention.
Take their shoe off.
Put it next to their bare foot.
Or grab a piece of paper and trace their foot like I did.
Then look at the front of the shoe.
Don't just ask:
"Is there enough room at the end?"
Look at whether there's room around their toes too.
I wish I'd done that before buying bigger pair after bigger pair.
I don't expect my son to finish a long practice with perfectly fresh feet.
He's playing hard.
He's running.
He's sweating.
That's normal.
But I don't want him wearing shoes that are too long just to get enough room around his toes.
And I definitely don't want him ripping them off the second practice ends.
I just want shoes that actually fit his feet.
That's what made the CUURT Muuv worth trying for us.
If you're hearing the same thing after practice—
"Mom, my toes hurt."
—I'd look at the shape of their shoes before automatically buying another half size up.
Check CUURT Muuv sizes and current availability →
Your kid may not need a bigger shoe.
They may just need more room around their toes.
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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