Nettle comes from rural South Australia, born in the town of Naracoorte and growing up on the family vineyard in Cobdogla.

[1] A right-handed player, Nettle played college tennis in the United States for Troy University before turning professional.

He made the final qualifying round of the 2005 Australian Open, with wins over Kristof Vliegen and Vasilis Mazarakis.

As a doubles player he twice appeared as a wildcard in the main draw of the Australian Open, partnering Sadik Kadir in 2005 and Peter Luczak in 2006.

[3][4] His biggest title win came in doubles at the 2005 Caloundra International Challenger, partnered with Peter Luczak, who he later coached on tour.