How do you practice tennis??????

Here's the deal: I am 21 years old, just graduated from college, and have started playing a little tennis.
How do I practice?
Apart from serving, it seems you need someone else there to do any meaningful training. But it's not like basketball where you just show up at the public court and play a pickup game.
I know the core players belong to clubs, but don't these cost thousands a year to belong to?
So my basic question is this: how does a person who doesn't have thousands to spend on club fees learn this sport and find people to play with?
thanks for your time.

Well first tennis isn't golf.. Most clubs don't cost thousands of dollars.. Maybe if you went to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club it would cost that much..

Anyway, check out www.craigslist.org for people looking for tennis partners.. You can also sign up for a group class at the local university or club.. Those usually cost around $40-110 per 8 week session, once or twice a week.. Than get your classmate's numbers and hit around..

Build your tennis contacts! Lots of public courts have leagues or ladders that you can join for $10-20 bucks..

[TennsDog]

www.tenniswelcomecenter.com
One good way is to hit against a wall. A lot of courts have backboards, or if not, find a brick building that has a parking lot and no one using it to hit against. That is what I did for 8-9 years.

[Skinny Dip]

The other thing to try is go to some of the various public courts around town. Some are filled with beginners, but others have better players that are always hanging around for hitting/pick up games.

[goober]

You can get group tennis lessons which are cheaper and probably ok in the beginning. Once you get better you can decide if you want to spend more to get an individual coach.

I would join some tennis leagues which usually are relatively inexpensive ($30-50 where I live). You can also find hitting partners this way.

Many clubs also have "drop in" play which is free or nominal cost (I pay $1). This is a great way to play against all kinds of different players.

[NCODE95]

i hit the ball against my basement wall its not good for trying to serve becasuse the ceiling isnt high enough but i put some tape on the wall so i could practice my groundstrokes so they wouldnt go in the net when i do get on the court.

[touchytennis]

i armoured up the wall of my room so i wont dent the walls anymore (little scratches and cracks). my room is pretty small, my desk, computer and bed are up against the wall so i have to be pretty accurate. when im bored i just cream forehands and hope they dont break the TV or glass cupboards behind me... as i said i have to be pretty accurate on the first hit and hope the angle doesnt rebound it towards anything fragile. I also have 2 lamps in room (broke a dozen light bulbs and snapped a lamp). sure makes practising between TV commercials a lot easier