If you are new to playing tournaments, you may not be used to having to develop a strategy for the match. A good place to start is by answering four basic questions.
Where do we want to return the serve
Where do we want to hit the third shot
Where do we want to defend
Where do we want to attack
The answers to these four questions will help you setup a coherent strategy. For example, assume that you and your partner are more finesse players and would prefer to avoid dealing with too many hard drives and engaging in too many hands battles. In this scenario, you would want to return the serve short and low (which is difficult to drive) or deep to a returner’s weaker side for drives (typically the backhand but some people have better two-handed backhands than forehands). You would hit tend to hit the third shot to the returner who may not be fully set to attack the ball. You would tend to dink shorter and wider, where it is more difficult to attack with a higher net. And you would try to generate offense with misdirection and lobs rather than head-on attacks.
I will have a post going into each of these questions in greater detail. While this series of posts is primarily concerned with tournament play, these suggestions are also useful for competitive rec play. If you are playing in a more casual setting (say open play at the local park or gym) with people you do not know, you can still practice these strategies, but limit it to 1/4 to 1/3 of the points so no one is feeling picked on or left out.