The Briton was making her first appearance since suffering a wrist injury in October.
Raducanu recovered from a break down to win the first set but dropped the second and ultimately lost the deciding tie-break, ending 5-7 6-3 10-8.
Despite the defeat, it was a positive display as the former US Open champion continues her preparations ahead of the upcoming Australian Open, which takes place next month in Melbourne.
"I'm rather pleased," Raducanu told reporters afterwards.
"I had to cut my season short because of a wrist injury so I've just been building in the gym.
"I started getting back on court recently in the last two weeks, so I'm happy to be making some progressions and I'm looking forward to 2023."
Earlier it had been reported that Raducanu had appointed German Sebastian Sachs as her new coach.
The 30-year-old, who was in Abu Dhabi with Raducanu, previously guided Belinda Bencic (25) to Olympic gold last year. He has also worked with Julia Goerges (34) and Victoria Azarenka (33).
Sachs will be Raducanu's fifth coach in 18 months after brief stints with Torben Beltz and Dmitry Tursunov.