Tennis is more fun, and you'll have more success, if you focus on learning to rally, rather than trying to hit the ball hard. Ball control is an important skill whether you want to have fun drills and workouts or learn to beat opponents by moving them around the court and forcing them into errors. Warm up with activities that emphasize ball control and you'll have a better match or workout.
Ball Bouncing
Start tennis warm-ups without a partner, working on ball-racket control. Begin bouncing the ball on your racket, trying to stand in one place as you bounce the ball on your strings 10 or more times. Once you have the hang of this, turn your racket over between each bounce. Start doing this while you move back and forth along the boundaries of the court. Bounce the ball against the ground 10 or more times, standing still, then walking while you bounce. Finally, let the ball bounce off your strings, then hit the ground, then your strings again. Repeat this pattern standing still and walking. Turn these activities into games or races for more fun.
Target Practice
Stand across from your partner, on the same side of the net, and line your forehands up by placing your rackets against each other. This will let you hit balls to each other's forehands, rather than into each other's bodies, which happens when you stand directly in front of one another. Place a ball on the ground between the two of you and take three steps back. Practice rallying by trying to hit the ball on the ground between you, gently hitting the rally ball up in the air. It's difficult to hit the ball on the ground, so you should be able to keep a rally going. After you get the hang of this, stand on opposite sides of the net. Each of you should place a ball several feet back from the net. Continue rallying, trying to hit each other's ball with your rally ball.
Alley Rally
Face your partner as you did for target practice on the same side of the net, this time standing on opposite sides of the doubles alley. Instead of trying to hit a ball on the ground between you, try to hit the other person's alley line. This will add a bit more depth and a different perspective to your rally.
Mini Tennis
When you can control your rallies over the net, play mini tennis, using the four service boxes as your court. You can do cooperative drills, hitting straight ahead or cross-court, or play competitive games, trying to win points. If you play games, make a rule that you can't hit the ball hard, since you're so close to the net. Play a game to seven points, using only slice. Play another game with only topspin, if you have learned to put spin on the ball. Set a rule that one player may only hit topspin while the other may only use slice.
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