She was the eldest child of Stuart Nuthall, who worked on the London and South Western Railway and later became a hotel proprietor, and his wife Mary, both of them keen tennis players.

In 1927 at the age of 16, Nuthall tied Elisabeth Moore as the then-youngest women's singles finalist ever at the U.S. National Championships.

In 1930, Nuthall became the first non-American since 1892 to win a women's singles title at the U.S. National Championships, defeating Anna McCune Harper in straight sets.

In 1931, she reached the singles final of the French International Championships but lost in two sets to top-seeded Cilly Aussem.

[9] At the U.S. Championships in 1933, Nuthall won a quarterfinal versus Alice Marble 6–8, 6–0, 7–5 after being down two breaks of serve at 1–5 in the final set.